High Court rejects petition by parents of mistakenly slain hostage to recognize him as fallen soldier

The High Court of Justice rejects a petition by the parents of slain hostage Alon Shamriz for him to be recognized by the IDF as a fallen solider.

Shamriz was abducted from his home in Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas invasion and atrocities it perpetrated that day, and taken hostage into Gaza.

Shamriz, together with two other hostages, succeeded in escaping captivity in December 2023 in northern Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood, but all three were mistakenly shot and killed by IDF forces operating in the area.

The three victims were recognized as victims of terrorism, but Shamriz’s parents asked the army to recognize him as a fallen soldier which would entitle him to a military burial and enable themselves to be recognized as parents of a fallen soldier.

The parents argued that since Shamriz had received reserve duty orders on October 7 which, they said, he would have obeyed, since he was active in reserve duty before the war, and because he demonstrated military training and capabilities in extracting himself and his fellow hostages from captivity, he should be recognized as a fallen soldier.

The High Court ruling says that in confining itself strictly to the letter of the law, it found that the army’s decision not to recognize Shamriz as a fallen soldier was a lawful decision, and that the court therefore has no authority to intervene.

“This ruling does not detract in any way from the profound appreciation due to the late Alon, who demonstrated extraordinary and exceptional courage under unimaginably difficult circumstances,” adds the court.

“We join in honoring his memory and wish to express our condolences to the petitioners and to his family.”