Israeli Defense Forces Mistakenly Killed 3 Hostages When They Were Found

7 min

The Israel Defense Forces today announced it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages in northern Gaza. 

“The IDF expresses deep sorrow for the incident and shares in the grief of the families," the military said. "The IDF will continue to act in all efforts to return the abductees home.”

During his visit to Israel, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today that the United States wanted to see results on avoiding civilian casualties in Gaza. He was speaking in Israel after meeting with officials there amid spiking tensions between the two countries.

After Sullivan's comments, Israel announced it would open its border crossing at Kerem Shalom for the delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza. It's the first time since hostilities began that humanitarian aid will cross directly into Gaza from Israel. Previously, aid from Egypt to Gaza flowed through the Rafah crossing, which was heavily congested by Israeli checkpoints.

Earlier, two U.S. officials said the Biden administration has told the Israeli government that it wants to see an end to the large-scale ground campaign in Gaza and a transition to a more targeted phase of its war against Hamas.

More than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed, with 70% of them women and children, according to the territory's health officials. The vast majority of its 2.2 million people are displaced, and an estimated half face starvation amid an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Israeli military officials say 116 soldiers have been killed during the country's ground invasion in Gaza, which came after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and seized about 240 hostages on Oct. 7.

NBC News’ Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Hala Gorani, Hallie Jackson, and Chantal Da Silva are reporting from the region.

(9h ago / 12:54 AM EST

Senior advisor to Netanyahu: Hamas showed itself for what it really is

NBC News)

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DEC. 15, 202304:35

Mark Regev, senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discusses the policy of Qatar giving millions to Gaza.

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11h ago / 10:43 PM EST

Netanyahu on a mission to maintain power, shore up support

Anna Schecter and Dan De Luce

Israel's Netanyahu has spent the past several weeks maneuvering to maintain power and shore up public support amid attacks from political rivals, pressure from the Biden administration, and growing international criticism of his handling of the war.

In an apparent effort to play to his right-wing base, Netanyahu publicly broke this week with President Biden and rejected any talk of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He called the Oslo Peace Agreement, which established the Palestinian Authority in 1994 and gave it the power to govern the West Bank and Gaza, a “mistake” that should not be repeated. The statement was a blunt rebuke of Biden, who has called for a “revamped” Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after Hamas is defeated.

Netanyahu’s move follows a long-running pattern of the Israeli leader making hard-line statements for his own political gain, according to current and former Israeli officials, who asked not to be named.

U.S. and Israeli officials told NBC News that they fear Netanyahu has adopted some positions in the war against Hamas to prolong his own political survival.

Read the full story here.

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13h ago / 9:02 PM EST

An Israeli teen lost his father and brother in the Hamas attacks; an American boy was inspired to take action

Tom Llamas

DEC. 15, 202304:26

OFAKIM, ISRAEL — In a bomb shelter festooned with Israeli flags and colorful plastic bunting, children who lost parents in the Hamas attacks on Israel danced, sang and ate jelly donuts, courtesy of a young Californian boy who forged an unlikely bond with the devastated community.

At the center of Thursday’s bittersweet Hanukkah celebration was 13-year-old Ori Ohayon, whose father, Moshe, 52, and older brother, Eliad, 23, were killed when they confronted militants storming their small, conservative hometown of Ofakim in southern Israel. His mom Sarit and siblings Amitai, Yair, Shira, and Uri also survived.

Moshe and Eliad were among 48 people killed in the community, according to officials in the city, which sits around 11 miles east of the Gaza Strip.