(NewsNation) — Israeli troops mistakenly shot three hostages to death Friday in a battle-torn neighborhood of Gaza City, and an Israeli strike killed a Palestinian journalist in the south of the besieged territory.
This comes one day after President Joe Biden told reporters he wants Israel to exercise more caution in protecting civilians in Gaza.
Aaron Cohen, an IDF special operations veteran who now advises police departments on counterterrorism, joined “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to discuss the incidents.
“It’s been a very difficult situation,” Cohen said. “Israel has been dealing with the fifth front or a public relations front, which has been very difficult. The IDF spokesmen have been doing the best they can to be able to communicate what’s actually going on on the ground. Israel has been thoughtfully documenting all of the operations that they’ve been conducting.”
The hostages were killed in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have been engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas militants in recent days.
Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26, were gunned down by Israeli defense forces in northern Gaza. The IDF says the men were mistaken as a threat and “bears responsibility for everything that happened.”
“When it comes to anti-fratricide, Israel takes it so seriously, to the point where every off-duty law enforcement officer in Israel is forced to carry this anti-fratricide, high visibility reflective cap, and that cap goes into their pocket. It only comes out when they’re responding to an active shooter; it’s mandatory by law that that cap goes on the head,” Cohen said. “And that’s to avoid friendly fire shootings from other uniformed officers who are responding.”
The IDF said it has “deep remorse over the tragic incident.” In its aftermath, the IDF said it immediately began reviewing the event and lessons learned from it have been passed on to all troops in the field.
“Israel was very quick to present the facts here and to make sure that those bodies got back to those families. But again, don’t forget, we’ve got over 100 hostages still being held,” Cohen said. “This was not a hostage rescue mission. And it’s very, very tragic. And, as you mentioned, is due to the fog of war.”