Mother of Israeli hostage mistakenly gunned down by IDF tells soldiers who killed her son 'I love you very much' in stunning show of forgiveness
Yotam Haim, 28, was killed after escaping his captors and waving a white flag
The mother of Yotam Haim (left) who was mistakenly shot dead by the IDF, told the soldiers that gunned down her son: 'I love you very much and I embrace you from afar'
The mother of an Israeli hostage mistakenly shot dead by the IDF told the soldiers that gunned down her son: 'I love you very much and I embrace you from afar.'
Yotam Haim, 28, was killed alongside Alon Shamriz, 26, and Samer El-Talalka, 22, after escaping their captors and waving a white flag.
But Mr Haim's mother, Iris, made an emotional voice note to the troops' battalion absolving them of blame and pinning the tragedy on Hamas.
She said: 'I wanted to tell you that I love you very much and I embrace you from afar. I know that everything that happened is completely not your fault, it's nobody's fault - except the Hamas, may their name and memory be wiped off the face of the earth.'
Mrs Haim urged the soldiers of Bislach Brigade, battalion 17 to 'stay safe' and said that the Jewish people 'need you'.
Yotam, 28, was abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7
She said: 'Don't hesitate for a single moment - if you see a terrorist, don't think that you have deliberately killed a hostage, you need to protect yourselves because that's the only way you would be able to protect us.
'We invite you to come visit us at the earliest opportunity, whoever is willing, we want to see you with our own eyes and embrace you and tell you that what you have done.
'As painful as it is to say, and as sad as it is - was likely the right thing to do at that moment, and none of us are judging you or angry with you.
'Not me, not my husband Raviv, not my daughter Noya, not Yotam, of blessed memory, and not Tuval, Yotam's brother.'
The IDF is investigating the shooting after releasing a statement with full details and stating that it breached their rules of engagement.
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: 'This is a tragic incident, the IDF bears responsibility. This is an area where the soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers.'
The army's chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israeli troops found the hostages and erroneously identified them as a threat. He said it was not clear if they had escaped their captors or been abandoned.
Two of the victims were initially named - Yotam, who was abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Samer, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7.
Samer Al-Talalka was also abducted from Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7
The third victim mistakenly killed was later identified as Alon Shamriz, a computer engineering student born to Iranian parents
Netanyahu said: 'With all the deep sorrow, I want to clarify: the military pressure is necessary both for the return of the kidnapped and for achieving victory over our enemies'
The third victim mistakenly killed was later identified as Alon, a computer engineering student born to Iranian parents.
The deaths occurred in the (northern) Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have engaged in fierce battles against Hamas in recent days.
The Israeli military said it will be 'reviewing the incident immediately' adding that 'immediate lessons' have also been learnt.
The force said it's mission remains to 'locate the missing and return all hostages home'.
Yotam's mother Iris Haim had been desperately trying to get son home since he disappeared more than two months ago.
She spoke at a press conference held by The Missing Families and Hostages Forum last week, recalling the last conversation she had with her son.
The terrified mother described the moment her son was taken by Hamas terrorists at 10.44am from a safe room he had been hiding in on October 7.
He told his mother that terrorists were 'shooting at the house, shooting the door, shooting the safe room and burning the house.'
Their conversation began at 6.30am but became more frantic after her son discovered that it wasn't a missle strike taking place, but a terror attack happening in his kibbutz.
A panicked Iris, said her son who suffers from some mental and medical issues was alone and 'afraid.' She tried to call the police and the army but could not get through.
Yotam's parents lived in a nearby moshav and his father desperately wanted to get his son but was unable to because of Hamas surrounding the area.
'We couldn't help,' she wept. 'We knew we couldn't help as a mother and a father we were so helpless.'
Calling his mother 'mamou' the endearing name, her son began using after a mother-son trip to France, she began to cry as she recalled the last time they would speak before they lost all communication.
'Mamou I hope I will survive this,' Yotam told his mother. 'I don't know if I will survive, but I love you.... ask for help.... please...please... send someone please ... I don't have air... I cannot breathe.'
A few weeks ago, while speaking at another forum for those who have loved ones murdered or kidnapped by Hamas. Iris begged for his son to be returned. 'He needs to come back to his family ... to us,' she said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement and said on Saturday that the army's killing of three hostages in Gaza in a case of mistaken identity was heart-breaking, but 'military pressure is necessary' to bring the other captives home.
'It broke my heart. It broke the whole nation's heart,' he said of the deaths, while adding: 'With all the deep sorrow, I want to clarify: the military pressure is necessary both for the return of the kidnapped and for achieving victory over our enemies.'
The news of their killing has sparked furious protests on the streets of Tel Aviv, with the families of hostages held in Gaza calling on the government to make an urgent deal to secure their release amid concern that their loved ones could be next.
The death of the three hostages sparked anger in Israel, with protesters marching last night to share their anguish and fury. Pictured: Relatives and supporters of hostages held by Palestinian militants demonstrate outside the Israeli ministry of defence in Tel Aviv
Families of the hostages set up tents to sleep in after marching to the Kirya on December 16, 2023
People rally for the release of hostages kidnapped on the deadly October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 16, 2023
'All we get again and again are dead hostages,' Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, said at an event in Tel Aviv organised by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
'Our demand is not a fight (with the government). It's a call that anyone would have made if it had been their father. Take us into consideration and come up with a plan now (for negotiation).'
Scenes from Tel Aviv showed crowds of people, many themselves the families of people kidnapped by Hamas, taking to the streets with banners to mourn and call for the return of Israelis trapped in Gaza.
Protestors held signs calling for an immediate hostage exchange, showed pictures of loved ones now missing for nearly ten weeks, and saw an Israeli flag coated in red paint and left outside the ministry of defence.
Netanyahu appeared to confirm on Saturday that new negotiations were underway to recover hostages held by Hamas, after a source said Israel's intelligence chief met the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a press conference, Netanyahu called the conflict an existential war that must be fought until victory, despite pressure and costs, and said Gaza would be demilitarised and placed under Israeli security control.
He said Israel's offensive in Gaza had helped clinch a partial hostage release deal in November and vowed to maintain intense military pressure on Hamas, the terrorist group that runs Gaza and that he has vowed to destroy.
'The instruction I am giving the negotiating team is predicated on this pressure, without which we have nothing,' he said.
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