Killed Israeli prisoner’s brother says army ‘murdered’ him

Shefayim, Israel – AFP

An Israeli prisoner mistakenly killed by soldiers in the Gaza Strip was buried on Sunday, with his brother accusing the army of having “abandoned” and “murdered” him.

Alon Shamriz, 26, was one of the three Israelis shot dead Friday by soldiers in the Gaza City district of Shejaiya, even as they carried a white flag and cried for help in Hebrew.

Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samer El-Talalqa were killed when troops mistook them for Palestinians and opened fire, the army said.

“Those who abandoned you also murdered you after all that you did right,” Ido, Shamriz’s brother, said at the funeral attended by dozens of relatives and family members north of Tel Aviv.

The deaths of the three men, all in their twenties, have sparked protests in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators demanded that the authorities offer a new plan for bringing home the remaining 129 people still held in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday military spokesman Richard Hecht said the deaths were being investigated and what the soldiers did was “violation of the rules of engagement”.

Around 250 people were taken captive when Hamas fighters attacked Israeli military check-posts on October 7, killing 1,139 people, according to updated Israeli figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring back the prisoners, Israel launched a massive military offensive against the Palestinian enclave which has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins. The territory’s government says the war has killed at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children.