Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 25, and Alon Shamriz, 26, were abducted during Hamas's October 7, 2023, assault.

By TZVI JASPER

Troops who mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages amid the Israel-Hamas conflict were instructed to fire on any men spotted immediately, while exercising discretion with women and children, according to one soldier's account to a victim's mother in a recent Hamakor episode on Channel 13.

The three captives - Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 25, and Alon Shamriz, 26 - were seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023, onslaught. That December, IDF forces unintentionally shot them dead in Gaza, even as they waved a white flag and shouted "Help" in Hebrew.

Talalka and Shamriz were struck and killed right away. Haim, hit in the hand, escaped briefly before returning to the site of his companions' deaths, hands raised in surrender, only to be fatally shot.

Iris Haim, Yotam's mother, persistently challenged the military's initial version of events. Hamakor credits her persistence with exposing the real story behind the troops' actions and directives.

"The government insists bringing hostages back is the top priority, yet soldiers lack their photos. How are they supposed to identify them?" she remarked.

Soldier D., present at the scene, informed Iris that the local commander halted firing after the first two hostages fell, but failed to allow sufficient time for the directive to reach everyone before urging the third to emerge.

"It happened in seconds," D. explained, noting he could not relay the command to more distant troops.

"The commander realized rank-and-file soldiers had no radios and that you'd have to sprint to inform them," Iris pressed D. "What was his plan for that?"

Brigade Commander Confirms IDF Rules Permit Killing Unarmed Militants

Brigade commander Col. Israel Friedler conceded to Iris that protocol allows soldiers to eliminate Hamas militants regardless of whether they carry weapons.

Friedler maintained, however, that every soldier received the cease-fire order and violated it in a grave mistake.

The shooter who killed Yotam refuted Friedler during a call with Iris, insisting no such order had reached him prior to pulling the trigger.