Killing of Israeli hostages by the country's military alarms captives' families

The mistaken killings of three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military on Friday was a nightmare come true for former hostages and for the families of people still being held by Hamas.

Raz Ben-Ami, a former Israeli hostage released by Hamas during a recent truce between the two sides, told demonstrators in Tel Aviv, Israel, that she had warned government officials during a meeting with Israel’s Cabinet that the offensive could put the hostages in the crossfire.

“I begged the Cabinet, and we all warned that the fighting would likely harm the hostages. Unfortunately, I was right,” said Ben-Ami, whose husband Ohad is still being held captive in Gaza.

“I survived,” she added. “If the agreement to release the hostages had been delayed by a week, I might not be here.”

Hamas-led fighters abducted more than 240 Israelis and foreign nationals — including women, young children and older people — during their Oct. 7 surprise attack, in which Palestinian assailants overran border communities near Gaza. Roughly 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the assault, according to Israeli officials.

More than 80 Israelis, all women and children, and 24 foreign nationals were freed from Gaza as part of a temporary cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in late November. Roughly 240 Palestinian prisoners — all women and children — were released in exchange. That agreement collapsed in early December and both sides returned to fighting.

On Friday, the Israeli military announced that its soldiers had killed the three hostages — identified as Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka — in Shejaiye in northern Gaza. Their deaths stunned the country and provided a stark reminder of the risks the remaining hostages face, as Israel carries out massive airstrikes and a full-scale ground offensive against Hamas.

For Alaa Talalka, whose cousin Samer was killed Friday in Shajaiye, his relative’s monthslong captivity and sudden killing were like “a bad dream that I keep trying to wake up from,” he said. Palestinian militants abducted Samer from the farm where he worked on the Gaza border soon after they began their Oct. 7 assault; after 7:20 a.m., his family lost all contact with him, his cousin said.

On Friday, the family was celebrating Samer’s mother’s birthday, a small point of light amid the crisis prompted by his abduction. Then came the news he had been shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

“He was so sociable and friendly. He loved to laugh and make people happy,” said Alaa Talalka, a 37-year-old psychologist from the Arab town of Hura in the southern Negev desert. “I can’t fathom what’s happened.”

Israeli leaders have said their operation has two goals: to topple Hamas and to free the more than 120 hostages who remain captive in Gaza. Top officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have insisted that the twin objectives go hand-in-hand.

The families of hostages, however, have called for a new deal to releases the hostages as soon as possible.

“The hostages are experiencing hell and they are in mortal peril,” Ben-Ami said. “Israel must offer another hostage release deal and get the international community to back it.”

Itzik Horn, whose children Eitan, 37, and Yair, 45, were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, said the Israeli military’s killing of the hostages reinforced his belief that Israel must immediately reach a deal to free all the captives, even if it means releasing Palestinians being held in Israeli jails on terrorism charges.

“Let them free all the Palestinian prisoners we have here, all the terrorists — what do I care,” Horn said in an interview. “The most important thing isn’t to defeat Hamas. The only victory here is to bring back all the hostages.”