Mother of killed ‘Israeli’ captive says soldiers were ordered to “shoot everything” in Gaza
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In December 2023, during an ‘Israeli’ attack on Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, ‘Israeli’ troops mistakenly killed three ‘Israelis’ who had previously escaped from captivity.
The military initially described the incident as a tragic accident resulting from misidentification in the fog of war.
The killed captives were identified as Yotam Haim, 28, Alon Shamriz, 26, and Samar Talalka, 25.
The three men emerged shirtless from a building waving a makeshift white flag and calling for help in Hebrew.
Despite these signals, they were fired upon, with two killed immediately and the third, Yotam Haim, shot after briefly fleeing and then returning with arms raised.
In a recent interview with Hebrew Channel 13’s investigative program HaMakor, Iris Haim, Yotam’s mother, challenged the military’s characterization of the event.
She recounted conversatios with soldiers involved, stating that they received unequivocal orders to shoot on sight anything they observed, without hesitation, even if the figures appeared to be civilians.
“I heard this from every soldier who spoke to me… They received an unequivocal order: Everything you see — and you will not hesitate, even if they’re civilians — you shoot to kill,” Iris Haim told the broadcaster. The hour-long documentary, “The truth behind the shooting of the hostages,” aired on Thursday.
An officer in the Golani battalion, according to the investigation, also told the mother that “the instructions given to the soldiers were very clear,” saying troops were told to shoot “even if it’s an old man” – claiming that “an old man knows how to detonate himself with a bomb.”
An ‘Israeli’ military investigation into the December 15, 2023 incident concluded that the killings were preventable but attributed them to operational misidentification amid heavy fighting, with no finding of malice.
Preliminary probes noted that troops in the area had instructions regarding men of fighting age, and communication gaps contributed to the failure to recognize the captives. No disciplinary actions were taken against the soldiers involved.
