White House calls deaths of three Israeli hostages "heartbreaking"
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called the deaths of three Israeli hostages “heartbreaking” after the Israel Defense Forces said it accidentally shot and killed them.
The White House does not have “perfect visibility” on how this happened, Kirby said. US President Joe Biden has been briefed by his national security team on the killings, he added.
“It's heartbreaking. It's tragic. This news coming out of Gaza today about these hostages being killed in the conduct of a raid. I want to be careful here not to speak to too many specifics because we don't have perfect visibility on exactly how this operation unfolded and how this tragic mistake was made,” Kirby told reporters Friday.
Kirby added that he believes Israel will examine how this happened but declined to make a “broad judgement about the specific circumstance.”
The IDF said Friday it mistakenly shot the three hostages after they had been misidentified as a threat.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez contributed reporting to this post.
3:53 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
US national security adviser discussed increasing aid flow in meeting with Palestinian Authority president
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza during his meeting Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, according to the White House.
The top security official also "stressed the importance of enhancing the protection of civilians" during his meeting, according to a readout provided by the White House.
Sullivan talked to Abbas about the Biden administration's desire for a peaceful Middle East region and a “path to a two-state solution.”
“Mr. Sullivan reemphasized President (Joe) Biden’s longstanding vision for a more peaceful, integrated, and prosperous Middle East region, and ultimately a path to a two-state solution that provides for equal measures of justice, freedom, and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the White House said.
Sullivan also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday. Netanyahu previously publicly rejected American plans for post-war Gaza.
In a news conference Friday morning in Tel Aviv, Sullivan said that Israel will move to a new "phase of this war," focused on precisely targeting Hamas leadership.
7:04 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
IDF discloses name of third hostage killed by Israeli troops in Gaza
From Tamar Michaelis
Alon Shimriz was kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas on October 7. Hostages and Missing Families Forum
The Israel Defense Forces said that the name of the third hostage who was mistakenly killed by IDF troops on Friday in Gaza has been approved for publication by his family.
The Israeli military said the third person was Alon Shimriz, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas on October 7.
The IDF repeated that it “expresses deep remorse over the incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences.”
New information about other hostages killed: In a statement Friday, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum also provided more information about the other two hostages who were killed, Samer Fouad Talalka and Yotam Haim.
The forum said Talalka was 25 years old and the oldest of 10 children.
“Samer was an avid motorcyclist who loved to ride around the countryside and spend time with friends," it said.
Haim, 28, was a gifted musician and a dedicated metal music fan, the forum said. He had played the drums for 20 years and was part of the band Persephore, with whom he was supposed to perform at a music festival in Tel Aviv on October 7.
Yotam left behind two parents, a brother, and a sister.
This post has been updated to reflect the spelling of Shimriz's name in the latest information provided by the IDF.
3:32 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
Red Cross president visits the West Bank to support aid groups on the ground
From CNN's Maija Ehlinger
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, traveled to the West Bank Friday following visits to Gaza and Israel earlier in the month.
She met with the Palestine Red Crescent Society's President Dr. Younis Al-Khatib and his team, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter. The goal of the meeting was "to discuss efforts to assist communities suffering from the effects of conflict," according to an ICRC press statement on Friday.
She also met with a committee for detainee affairs to "listen and share with them the ICRC’s persistent efforts to regain humanitarian access to places of detention."
"PRCS volunteers have shown enormous courage and dedication to aid people in Gaza. They have @ICRC’s ongoing and firm support," she added on X.
Her visit to the West Bank comes a day after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the relatives of missing hostages in Israel on Thursday.
3:26 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
Netanyahu describes "unbearable tragedy" after 3 hostages accidentally killed by Israeli military in Gaza
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken of his “deep sorrow” at what he called the “unbearable tragedy” of the deaths of three Israeli hostages in Gaza who were accidentally shot by Israeli soldiers.
“Along with all the people of Israel, I bow my head with deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped, among them are Yotam Haim and Samer Fouad Al-Talalka,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
“This an unbearable tragedy. The whole state of Israel is grieving this evening. My heart goes out to the families aching during their time of immense grief. I would like to send strength to our brave soldiers focusing on this sacred mission of returning our hostages, even with the price of sacrificing their own lives,” he added.
“Even on this difficult evening we shall dress our wounds, learn the lessons and continue carrying this supreme effort to return all our hostages home safely,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also said his thoughts were with the families of the hostages.
"This is a painful incident for every Israeli," Gallant said in a statement. "We must remain resilient and continue operating - for the hostages, for our citizens and for our soldiers."
Gallant said he had spoken to the Israel Defense Forces' chief of the general staff "in order to learn lessons immediately."
3:35 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
Israeli troops in Gaza told to "exercise additional caution" following hostage killings
From CNN's Michael Conte
IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col Jonathan Conricus is interviewed by CNN on Friday, December 15. CNN
Israeli soldiers are being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes, military spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Friday, after the Israel Defense Forces said it accidentally killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Conricus' remarks come after IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said “lessons and relevant instructions concerning the identification of hostages in battle zones have been immediately communicated to all IDF forces across the whole Gaza Strip.”
Conricus claimed “almost all of the RPG crews” and others attacking IDF forces in Gaza “have been dressed in civilian clothes.”
“What we have told our troops is to be extra vigilant and do one more safety check before dealing with kinetics with any threat that they face on the battlefield,” he said. “But it is a very challenging environment that our troops are in.”
2:56 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
Key member of Israeli war cabinet vows to do "everything" to bring hostages home alive after mistaken killings
From Tamar Michaelis
Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel’s war cabinet, has reacted to the news that three Israeli hostages in Gaza were accidentally shot and killed by Israeli troops Friday.
"The heart is shattered after learning about this tragedy tonight. I ask to embrace the families - all the people of Israel are crying along with you," Gantz wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "I would like to give strength to all the families of hostages as well as to the soldiers who are deep in the field and conduct a complicated and important mission like no other before, since the country was founded."
"The pain accompanying the campaign, is now even bigger due to this difficult incident. Our responsibility is to win the war, and part of that victory would be to return the hostages home," he continued. "We will do everything to return them alive. Everything."
Remember: Gantz, the former Israeli defense minister and political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is part of the emergency government and war management cabinet formed after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. He was among several leading opposition members in Israel's parliament to join the hastily constructed war cabinet.
CNN's Sugam Pokharel contributed reporting to this post.
9:50 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
Israeli military accidentally shoots and kills 3 Israelis held hostage in Gaza
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis
Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Yotam Haim (left) and Samer Talalka, were shot and killed by Israeli military accidentally. Hostages and Missing Families Forum
The Israel Defense Forces says that three Israeli hostages in Gaza were mistakenly identified as a threat and shot dead.
“During combat in Shejaiya (in northern Gaza), the IDF mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a briefing Friday.
“During searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, a suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased. Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages,” he added.
The hostages have been identified as:
Yotam Haim, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza
Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Am
Another male hostage whose family requested that his name not be published
The IDF began reviewing the incident immediately, Hagari said.
Responding to a reporter's question, Hagari said IDF officials "assume that the three Israelis killed either escaped or were abandoned by the terrorists" during ongoing fighting in Shejaiya.
He said he was unable to answer immediately whether the three men had put their hands up or shouted to the soldiers in Hebrew.
“The IDF emphasizes that this is an active combat zone in which ongoing fighting over the last few days has occurred. Immediate lessons from the event have been learned, which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field,” Hagari said.
“The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences. Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home,” he added.
4:34 p.m. ET, December 15, 2023
Al Jazeera cameraman killed by Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza, network says
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Eve Brennan and Kareem Khadder in Jerusalem
A still from a video of AI Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa. From AI Jazeera
Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa has died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the TV network said Friday.
Daqqa had been trapped in a Haifa school, where he was working on assignment when it came under fire, the network said earlier Friday. Ambulances were unable to reach the wounded cameraman, according to journalists in Gaza, and the network said he had been stuck there bleeding for five hours.
Al Jazeera aired video showing friends and family of Daqqa, including his mother, crying over his body at the Al Nasser medical complex near Khan Younis.
His mother was seen being carried by two people saying, “He hasn’t seen his children, he hasn’t seen his children.”
According to Al Jazeera, he was born in 1978 and his wife and children — three boys and a girl — are in Belgium.
An investigative reporter for the outlet, Tamer Almisshal, described Abu Daqqa “as a great cameraman and editor, doesn’t fear anything, and professional.”
“I spoke to him a few days ago and told him, ‘Why don’t you join your family abroad?’ And he told me they will be back soon when this war is over," the journalist said.
Daqqa had told him, “I won’t leave Gaza,” Almisshal said, adding that he had worked for more than 20 years for Al Jazeera.
At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded early Friday after artillery fire struck the Haifa school and a residential home in Khan Younis.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on its military operations in the area.
Khan Younis has been heavily bombarded by the Israeli military since a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel broke down on December 1.
Workers killed: Three civil defense workers in Gaza whose rescue efforts were being covered by the Al Jazeera team were also killed Friday, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior.
“Three members of our crews were martyred as a result of being bombed by Israeli occupation aircraft during their humanitarian work while rescuing citizens in Farhana School in central Khan Yunis Governorate," the ministry said on Telegram.
Fellow journalist wounded: The airstrike also wounded Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh, the Qatar-based news network said in a statement to CNN. Al Jazeera broadcast video of Dahdouh receiving treatment at a hospital for wounds in his right arm and abdomen while he cried out in pain.
In October, an Israeli airstrike killed Dahdouh’s wife, son and grandson, the network said. He received the news while he was on air covering the Israel-Hamas war.
Dozens of journalists have been killed covering the Israel-Hamas war, making it the most dangerous period for the profession in 31 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post has been updated to include the deaths of three civil defense workers, according to the Hamas-controlled interior ministry.
