After tragic shooting of hostages: IDF chief emphasizes rules of engagement
Halevi urges Israeli soldiers: 'Don’t stop thinking for one second in combat'
Following the tragic incident in which Israeli soldiers mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi re-emphasized the importance of following the rules of engagement.
During a visit to the 99th Division on Sunday, Halevi reiterated his previous comments about the importance of the IDF’s rules of engagement, stressing that even in the heat of battle, soldiers should keep a cool head.
“I am talking to you not to say whether they did fine or not, but so that we will be fine going forward. You see two people, they have their hands up and no shirts, take two seconds,” he urged his soldiers.
The three Israeli hostages that were killed had removed their shirts to show they didn’t have explosives hidden on them and had fashioned a white cloth as a sign of surrender.
“What if it is two Gazans with a white flag who come out to surrender? Do we shoot at them? Absolutely not. Absolutely not.”
Halevi also added that this act does not show the weakness of the army but its strength. “I remember what I told my soldiers as a brigade commander before entering Operation Cast Lead: Work with your head. Don’t stop thinking for one second in combat.”
“Those who manage to use their heads while fighting, they hit the enemy better, are hit less by them, they deceive the enemy better, they hurt our forces less, they are sharper on the ground, they recognize things. Constantly question yourself, and I wish we had another opportunity for abductees to come to us or that we would arrive at the house, and do the right thing.”
After an initial investigation of the tragic incident, the IDF said a soldier opened fire toward the three hostages upon spotting them, killing two of them and wounding the third. He then escaped into a nearby building and called out for help in Hebrew.
The unit commander ordered his troops to stop shooting but when the hostage exited the building, a soldier in a nearby building shot him dead.
Those who surrender should be taken captive and can provide valuable intelligence, Halevi explained. “We extract a lot of intelligence from the prisoners we have; we have over 1,000 already.”
“The event is a very difficult and painful one and no one can say otherwise,” Halevi said.
“I’m telling you that this is an event that very easily could not have happened. And think, why did we come to operate on the ground? We set three goals: To dismantle Hamas, to restore security to the residents of the Gaza border area and the third mission is to return the kidnapped.”
The incident took place in the area of Shejaiya, a major Hamas stronghold where some of the most intense battles have taken place, both in this war and also during the last Gaza War in 2014.
Following the tragic incident, the IDF updated its protocols regarding the possibility of additional hostages managing to flee and the soldiers were sent the instructions in the field.
According to the initial investigation, the army concluded that both soldiers who opened fire on the hostages did so in violation of the rules of engagement, the Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli hostages who were accidentally killed were identified as Yotam Haim (28), Alon Shamriz (26), and Samar Fuad Talalka (22).
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
