From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Israeli TV airs audio of hostages calling for help days before they were accidentally killed by IDF
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Kan public broadcaster airs an audio recording of hostage Alon Shamriz calling for help during a gun battle between IDF troops and Hamas terrorists holding him and two others captive in Gaza City in December.
The audio was obtained from a GoPro camera mounted on a dog from the military’s Oketz canine unit, which was sent into the building where hostages Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samar Talalka, were held.
The dog was killed by the Hamas terrorists during the battle, and the camera was only recovered days later, after IDF troops mistakenly killed the three escaped hostages in another area of Gaza City.
“Help! Hostages Alon and Yotam! Help! We are by the stairs, under the stairs! Under the stairs! Please help!” Shamriz can be heard shouting in the leaked recording.
בלעדי: הקלטות הגבורה של אלון שמריז – כך ניסה להציל את עצמו ואת חבריו מהשבי בלב עזה | לכתבה המלאה >>> https://t.co/imzN4qKlSi@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/NYSy6NniAG
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 3, 2024
Soldiers had heard shouting of “Help” and “Hostages” in Hebrew from the building, but they believed it was an attempt by Hamas to lure them into an ambush, according to an IDF probe.
Alon’s brother posts on X that the family was not notified by the IDF that the recordings had been leaked to the media.
He says the Shamriz family was presented with the probe months ago, but when it came to the recordings, their mother “left because she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“I thought it was behind us… no one needs to hear this. And here the IDF is leaking it and subjecting us to Hamas psychological terror. Now it’s out… forever,” he adds.
A reporter for Kan posts on X that the audio was approved for publication by Alon’s father, Avi.
