The IDF announced Tuesday that it will form a committee to discuss the topic of recognizing hostages killed during the war as fallen soldiers, among other unique situations.
The establishment of the committee comes following the accidental killing of Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samer Talalka after they escaped Hamas captivity. The IDF stated that the war “presented Israel with complex and painful issues, among them the issue of bereavement, memory, and heroism.”
Unique situations and complex decisions
The family of Alon Shamriz appealed for him to be recognized as a fallen soldier, but the request was rejected.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi discussed the appeals received and stated that a committee will be established to examine the manner of recognizing and honoring civilians and abductees who participated in combat or unique situations.
The committee will convene when the operational situation allows it, together with representatives of the Defense Ministry.
Halevi said that this is “a difficult event with very harsh results. The IDF failed in the mission of rescuing the abductees in this incident. The entire chain of command feels responsible for the difficult incident, grieves over the outcome, and shares in the grief of the three families of the abductees.”
Halevi stated that the harm to the abductees could have been prevented. At the same time, he clarified that there was no malice in the incident, and the troops involved performed the correct action to the best of their understanding of the incident at that moment.”