The brother of one of the three hostages who accidentally killed members of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip yesterday, Sunday, at his funeral, accused those who “abandoned” him of “murdering” him, even though “you did everything right”.

Ido Shamriz was addressing his brother Alon, 26, during the funeral ceremony in Sefaim, a kibbutz north of Tel Aviv.

Alon, who was kidnapped on October 7, fell dead along with two other hostages as they shouted for help in Hebrew, waving a white flag, topless so that no one would think they were members of Hamas.

alon shamriz hostage funeral

Chahal released photos on Sunday night that he said were taken at the scene of the tragedy in the Gaza Strip. Among others, messages written in Hebrew on white paper can be seen: “SOS”, “Help”, “Three hostages”.

The messages were written with leftover food, the military said. “Based on our investigation in the field, it appears that the three hostages had been staying for some time in the building where the messages were found,” he added.

After the incident became known, and in the face of the anger of many Israelis, the army has not stopped issuing statements, assuring that it has learned “lessons”.

The pressure from the families of the hostages, who are asking to resume negotiations with Hamas, continues.

Hundreds of people marched Saturday night in front of Tel Aviv and camped out in front of the defense ministry demanding action to return their people.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday Saturday that his “heart is broken” adding that he wants to “maintain military pressure”, while Hamas emphasizes that in order to have any agreement for the hostages, a ceasefire must be declared.

The army expressed its regret for the “tragic incident” in an area of ​​the Gaza Strip where its forces face “great pressure”, engage in “intense fighting” and fall into “many ambushes”. However, he spoke of a “violation of the rules of engagement” and clarified that an investigation is being conducted.

“You survived 70 days in hell,” Dikla, Alon’s mother, said at the funeral. “One more moment and you would be in my arms.”

About 250 hostages were taken in the Gaza Strip in the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas’ military wing in southern areas of the Israeli territory on October 7, when some 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed, authorities said. It is estimated that 129 hostages remain prisoners of the Palestinian militants.

In retaliation, Israel, whose civilian-military leadership has vowed to “eliminate” Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, has since pounded the enclave, where at least 18,800 people have been killed, most of them women, children and teenagers, according to Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Islamic Movement.