IDF shows ‘SOS’ and ‘Help’ signs that hostages killed by troops put on Gaza building

The IDF publishes photos showing signs left behind by the three hostages who were mistakenly killed by troops in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood on Friday, on a nearby building.

According to the IDF, the signs reading “SOS” and “Help, 3 hostages” were written on fabric using leftover food.

The building with the signs, a few hundred meters away from Friday’s incident and discovered by troops on Wednesday, was initially dismissed as potentially booby-trapped by Hamas, as the terror group has attempted to lure soldiers into traps in the area in recent days.

This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows a sign reading, ‘Help, 3 hostages,’ that was put up in Gaza by three Israeli hostages who were later mistakenly killed by troops. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says that according to an initial investigation, the three hostages, Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka, and Alon Lulu Shamriz, were in that building for some of the time, after they escaped Hamas captivity or were abandoned by their captors.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military is investigating another building the three hostages may have stayed in.

On Friday, the trio approached soldiers while shirtless and waving a white flag, but were killed by soldiers who mistakenly identified them as a threat and opened fire against regulations.

(From L-R) Hostages Yotam Haim, Samar Talalka and Alon Lulu Shamriz, who were killed mistakenly by IDF troops in Gaza on December 15, 2023. (Courtesy)