Israel says it mistakenly killed three Gaza hostages


Israel said its troops had killed three Gaza hostages after mistaking them for a threat, with the armed forces expressing "deep remorse" over a "tragic incident" that sparked protests in Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military said Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa were shot during operations in a neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The trio were among those kidnapped during Hamas's raids into Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw an estimated 240 hostages taken, according to Israeli authorities.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the death of the three hostages as an "unbearable tragedy", while the White House called the incident a "tragic mistake".

As news of the incident spread, hundreds of people gathered at Israel's ministry of defence in the city of Tel Aviv in protest.