Relative of released Israeli detainees asks Netanyahu to stop attacks on Palestinians

ISTANBUL (AA) – Hen Avigdori, whose daughter and wife were released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, has said that in the midst of the ongoing attacks on Gaza, it was not possible to save Israeli detainees in Palestine. He requested that the Israeli premier stop attacks against Gaza, according to media reports.

The Maariv newspaper published a letter sent to Netanyahu by Avigdori after the Israeli army announced it had “accidentally” killed three Israeli detainees in Gaza.

Avigdori wrote that there was no time or military means to rescue the hostages.

Army spokesperson Daniel Hagari described the incident as “tragic” and said the army “bears responsibility,” according to the Times of Israel news website.

“This is an area where the (Israeli) soldiers encountered many terrorists, including suicide bombers,” he said.

He identified two of the detainees who were killed as Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, but did not identify the third upon request by his family.

Netanyahu mourned the three dead Israeli detainees and said it was “an unbearable tragedy.”

“Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the fall of three of our dear sons who were taken hostage,” he wrote on X.

“The entire State of Israel mourns this evening,” he said, adding that “necessary lessons” will be learned.

Israel has incessantly and indiscriminately bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive since October 7- one of the missions of the deadly assault being the release of Israelis detained in Palestine by Hamas.

At least 18,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 51,000 injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

Most victims are children. With infrastructure completely destroyed and humanitarian aid blocked out, those surviving are in the midst of indescribable misery and suffering.

The Israeli death toll in the October 7 attack stands at 1,200, while more than 130 detainees are still held by the Palestinian resistance group in Gaza, according to official figures.