The Israeli army stated that they will learn from the incident in which 3 prisoners were killed by the fire of their own soldiers despite raising the white flag in the blockaded Gaza Strip, and that they were not prepared for the scenario that Israeli prisoners would escape
In a televised speech, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi drew attention to the killing of 3 prisoners in Gaza by Israeli soldiers’ fire and said, “We are responsible for what happened.”
Pointing out that Palestinian resistance fighters were able to approach Israeli soldiers in civilian clothes during days of fierce clashes in Gaza City’s al-Shujaiya neighborhood, Halevi said, “We had to be ready for any threat. A sudden decision can lead to your death,” he said.
Explaining that they have completed the initial investigation into the incident and have learned lessons from it, Halevi said:
“The 3 kidnapped people did everything to make us understand them. They took off their shirts and waved a white piece of cloth so that there would be no suspicion that they were carrying anything. Despite this, they were fired upon, disregarding instructions not to fire at those raising the white flag.”
“We were not prepared for the scenario of the escape of our prisoners in Gaza,” Halevi said, arguing that this was actually an indication of the complexity of the war in Gaza.
