The mother of a hostage mistakenly killed by Israeli soldiers (IDF) told the battalion involved that it was not their fault, the Israeli government said, citing Sky News.

Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was mistaken for a Hamas fighter and shot dead along with two other hostages on Friday, said the soldiers did the “right thing,” NBC reported.

“Don’t hesitate for a minute — if you see a terrorist, don’t think you killed the hostage on purpose,” Iris Haim told the battalion, according to a government statement.

“You have to protect yourself because that’s the only way you can protect us,” she said, adding: “It’s nobody’s fault but Hamas that their name and memory has been erased from the face of the earth “.

Ms. Haim concluded by inviting the battalion to visit her and her family, saying that “none of us are judgmental or angry with you.”

How could the Israeli army kill three Israeli hostages?

Three Israeli hostages accidentally killed by Israeli forces in Gaza were shirtless and holding a white flag, according to the first checks carried out in the case, a military official was quoted by Reuters as saying on Saturday.

The incident took place in an area where there is intense fighting and Hamas militants operate in civilian clothes and use covert tactics, the quoted official said.

An Israeli soldier saw the hostages appear dozens of meters from Israeli forces in the Shejaiya area and shouted “terrorists!” to other soldiers, opening fire on them.

“They were all shirtless and had a stick with a white cloth. The soldier felt a threat and opened fire. He said they were terrorists and they (Israeli soldiers) opened fire. The two men were killed immediately,” said a military official quoted by Reuters and The Guardian.

The third hostage was wounded and retreated to a nearby building, where he called for help in Hebrew. “Immediately, the battalion commander gave the order to cease fire, but shot again at the third, and he was also killed,” the Israeli official added.

“SOS”

The other day, when images surfaced of alleged Hamas members captured by Israeli soldiers, they were naked, and the army said it was done to make sure there were no explosives on them.

An Israeli official who presented the initial findings of the investigation said on Saturday that the three hostages may have been abandoned or escaped. A few hundred meters from the place of their accidental death stood a building with the inscription “SOS”.

The building, which was spotted by the fighters on Wednesday, was also painted with paint “To the aid of the three hostages.” At the time, soldiers thought it was a trap, but now the military is investigating a possible connection to Friday’s incident.

Read also:

• The first reaction of the commander in chief of the Israeli army after his troops accidentally killed three hostages: we bear full responsibility