From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Father of slain hostage says IDF murdered him; calls for him to be recognized as fallen soldier
The father of Alon Shamriz, one of three hostages who was mistakenly killed Friday by IDF troops in northern Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood, implores the army to recognize his son as a fallen soldier.
Speaking with Channel 12 news, Avi Shamriz says the family requested such a designation, but were rejected earlier today.
“We were supposed to embrace him today and not mourn,” he says in an interview after the funeral.
Shamriz recalls being told “more than once” that his son Alon likely led Yotam Haim and Samar Fouad Talalka, the other slain hostages, in their effort to reach safety.
The IDF has said that it believes the three of them “fled or were abandoned by the terrorists who held them captive,” as Israeli forces closed in, and noted that troops had not encountered any civilians in the war-torn area of the Strip in quite some time.
“Among the three, he was a fighter; he was familiar with the Hamas tunnels from his military service,” Shamriz says. “There’s no doubt that he’s the mastermind and the person who executed the plan to get his friends out.”
“He behaved like a soldier, and experienced Hamas captivity, which wasn’t easy. I know he made sure to plan the escape, I have no doubt about it.”
The father also denounces the soldier who first shot at the hostages, saying he had a sniper rifle with a telescopic sight.
“It was clear that he knew who he was dealing with,” Avi Shamriz asserts.
He says the “SOS” and “Help, 3 hostages” signs that the hostages put up to attract the IDF’s attention were written by his son: “I recognize his handwriting,” Shamriz also tells Channel 13.
He says the prime minister has not spoken to him, but that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot did. Eisenkot was “much more empathetic” than Gallant, he says, but also that Gallant took the family’s anger and criticism “like a man.”
“Today should have been a day of celebration,” he says, “and a mark of honor for the IDF — that the IDF freed three hostages. But what happened, bottom line: The IDF abandoned my son on October 7, and the IDF murdered my son on December 14. That’s what happened. That’s what the defense minister heard from me.”
