Mourners have gathered for the funeral of Samer Talalka, 22, one of the three hostages who were mistakenly killed by Israeli military yesterday, having been held by Hamas in Gaza

The IDF said the three men were mis-identified as a "threat". They were fired upon while shirtless and holding a white cloth on a stick.

Talalka was buried in Hura village in southern Israel this afternoon.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Palestinian media reports say dozens of people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Jabalia in northern Gaza, with many civilians said to be trapped under rubble there.

Palestinian Wafa news agency said at least three dozen people had been killed in strikes on three houses in the Jabalia refugee camp.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted a building in Jabalia after militants were identified on the roof and its forces came under fire.

The reports are unconfirmed by Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which has previously said Israel's ground offensive and the targeting of medical facilities have made it difficult to gather information about casualties in the north of the Strip.

Gaza residents have also reported intense fighting overnight in Shejaiya, Sheikh Radwan, Zeitoun, Tuffah and Beit Hanoun in the north, and in the centre, east and north of Khan Younis, Reuters news agency reports.

Image source, reu

Robby Chen, Itai Chen's father - a 19-year-old soldier being held by Hamas - has expressed his anger at a lack of communication from Israel's government to the hostage families.

He says the last time he met the Israeli war cabinet, it said Israel's ground campaign would bring hostages home alive, but "so far 10 days have passed and all we see are hostages not coming back alive".

He holds up an hourglass, which he says he brought to a meeting with the war cabinet.

"What are you waiting for? For them to come back in coffins? We demand the government to talk to us today to explain what proposal they have on the table."

The brother of a hostage taken by Hamas during their 7 October attacks on Israel has said that the families of hostages have been "begging" the Israeli government to meet with them but that there has been no response.

Danny Elghart, whose brother Yitzhak was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nor Oz, said that the families are waiting for the government to offer, "some kind of outline, some kind of deal," for the recovery of hostages from Gaza.

"I don't understand what they are waiting for," he added, "Now all we're receiving is one coffin after another."

Elghart said that if there was no response from Israel's cabinet or prime minister, the next step for the families of the hostages would be to move their protests to the Kirya in Tel Aviv which is home to the Israeli Defence Forces headquarters.

"We are going to be waiting for them everywhere and anywhere... a deal has to be on the table."

Image source, Reuters

Family members of hostages captured by Hamas on 7 October are making statements at the so-called Hostages Square, at the Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Raz Ben Ami is addressing the crowd - she was released from Hamas captivity on 29 November, but her husband Ohad is still being held. They were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri on 7 October.

"It's hard for me to stand here, I just got back from being a hostage," she says, adding that she will not live without her husband.

She says the hostage families met with the Israeli cabinet, and said: "Israel must dictate some kind of outline that would save the lives of these hostages."

"I am begging you - what are you waiting for, bring them home now."

Image source, @CENTCOM

A US warship has shot down 14 drones in the Red Sea after "a drone wave" was launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the US military has said.

The US Central Command said the "one way attack drones" were downed by the USS Carney destroyer, and no ships were damaged, with no injuries reported.

Meanwhile, French shipping group CMA CGM says it's pausing all container shipments through the Red Sea following attacks on commercial vessels in the area.

"The situation is further deteriorating and concern of safety is increasing," the group said.

A number of major freight firms have told their vessels to avoid the area, which is one of of the world's most important shipping routes.

The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly claimed to have carried out attacks on Israeli targets since the start of the conflict in early October. The rebels have said they will target any vessels travelling to Israel irrespective of their nationality and have claimed a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks.

Image source, FAMILY HANDOUT

The son of an Israeli hostage who was kidnapped by Hamas during their 7 October attacks has called for the Israeli government to make Hamas, "an offer they wouldn't be able to refuse", so that his father can be released.

Lior Peri, whose father Chaim Peri has been missing since those attacks, told the BBC he and other hostage families have been "shouting" for the government to negotiate a ceasefire to secure the release of their loved ones but that, "nobody seems to listen".

Peri also responded to the news that three Israeli hostages were accidentally killed by Israeli forces in Gaza saying that he was, "completely devastated" by the news.

"People who managed to survive the horrific Hamas [captivity] for 70 days...only to be killed by accident by the IDF, that's horrible," Peri said, adding that the deaths "could have been prevented" if negotiations had continued.

Peri also expressed concern that the ongoing ground offensive by Israeli forces in Gaza could result in a "body recovery operation" for the remaining hostages if negotiations for their release are not stepped up.

More now from Isaeli PM's adviser Mark Regev, who says the area where the three hostages were mistakenly killed by the IDF in Gaza is "a combat zone".

He says there's been hostile fire towards IDF forces in the area before and "the whole area is a war zone".

"That doesn't, of course, justify what's happened and that's why it's being investigated at the highest level - it's unacceptable what happened."

Asked about reports of negotiations resuming with Hamas, Regev says he can't go into any detail and will only update "if there's a serious opportunity to facilitate the freeing of hostages".

He says the use of force on the Hamas military machine is the best way to expedite the release of hostages.

He goes on to say that he showed US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, during his visit to Israel last week, how Israel identifies and engages targets in Gaza and makes efforts to limit or avoid civilian casualties.

"The idea Israel is carpet-bombing is simply not true - we have a rigorous selection process for the use of forces on the base of intelligence."

Mark Regev, senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister, has given some details on how the difficulties of combat in Gaza could have led to the IDF mistakenly killing the three hostages held by Hamas.

Asked what the IDF's rules of engagement are - which officials say its forces went against in killing the hostages - Regev says some have to be kept confidential because "Hamas is listening to our conversations".

"But it's clear we don't want to kill the innocent or our hostages.

"One problem we face is that Hamas don't wear uniforms, they wear civilian clothes, they are terrorists. There have been incidents in the past where they supposedly surrender and then attack our forces.

"Suddenly you think an area is clean and someone comes out of a door or underground tunnel and fires at our forces."

He says "there has to be action taken" if IDF soldiers broke its rules of engagement.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has responded to a number of attacks launched from Lebanon towards Israel in the last few hours.

The IDF said that military buildings and "terrorist infrastructures" belonging to Hezbollah - the powerful Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon - had been struck by fighter jets in response to the hostilities.

Hezbollah has repeatedly fired missiles and mortar shells across the border since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on 7 October.

The Israel-Gaza war has led to renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah with an Israeli strike killing four people, including two journalists, in southern Lebanon last month. Israel said at the time it was responding to "a threat" in the area.

• Read more on Lebanon and Hezbollah's tense history with Israel

Spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces, Lt Col Richard Hecht, has told the BBC that the IDF's mistaken killing of three hostages was "a tragic, tragic, tragic event”.

Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26 were shot dead by Israeli military who mistook them as "terorrists" after escaping Hamas captivity in Gaza yesterday.

“It was against the rules of engagement for the IDF," Hecht says.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme, he says: “We’re still doing in-depth investigations into this event… this was against the rules of engagement, they shouldn’t have opened fire. A soldier felt threatened and he responded. We’re still talking to him, we’re going to support our soldiers."

"Mistakes happen in this kind of conflict", he says, adding "it’s a very complex situation” because the soldiers were in a combat zone and they were getting fired at.

He says the soldiers responsible are not going to be punished.

“These are our hostages, these are our soldiers….first of all we’ll be giving help to these soldiers. They’re not going to be punished - they made a mistake, they made a mistake."

Joel Gunter
BBC News

A few weeks ago, as the first group of Israeli hostages were being brought out of Gaza, Avi Shamriz was sitting with his family at their temporary home in a hotel near Tel Aviv.

Avi knew that his 26-year-old son, Alon, would not be coming out this time. But the exchange had given him a renewed sense of hope. "On one hand, I am happy that this has begun, because it might continue," he said.

On the other hand, Avi was worrying constantly about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

"The government say they are being careful, but you cannot be careful when you are dropping bombs," he said. "You just don't know who you are going to hit."

On Friday, it emerged that Avi’s worst fears had materialised: Alon was among three hostages shot dead by Israeli forces while escaping their Hamas captors.

Alon’s absence had already been a “huge loss” to the family, Avi said that day, back when he still had hope.

“The connection with our son was daily, not once in a while. Every day he came to visit us. My three sons - they prayed together, played football together.”

Alon loved football. He supported Argentina’s national team, because his mother came from Argentina. He loved Lionel Messi. He was studying to be a computer engineer.

“My son did not deserve this,” Avi said.

Image source, EPA

A spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen says the group has attacked the Israeli Red Sea resort city of Eilat with a "swarm of drones".

It's the latest in a spate of attacks by the Houthis - who seized power nine years ago - who declared their support for Hamas and say they are targeting ships travelling to Israel.

The Red Sea is one the world's most important routes for oil and fuel shipments.

This morning, Egypt's air defence shot down a suspected drone near the Red Sea coastal town of Dahab.

Meanwhile, the UK's Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, says a Royal Navy warship shot down a suspected attack drone in the Red Sea. He said intelligence suggested the drone was targeting merchant boats.

Yesterday, two major shipping companies suspended sailings in the area because of a series of attacks by the Houthis.

Read more: How missiles from Yemen could escalate Israel-Gaza war

Thanyarat Doksone
Reporting from Bangkok

Image source, Getty Images

Wichian Temthong, 37, one of the 23 freed Thai hostage that have returned to their homeland, has told the BBC he was “very shocked” and “saddened” to learn about the deaths of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed on Friday.

Wichian, a Thai worker who was sent to Israel only 10 days before the Hamas attack, said he was captured from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October and was the only Thai held hostage with three other Israeli hostages. He spent nearly 50 days in Gaza with the three men whose names he remembered as Yotam, who did a drumming gesture to tell Wichian he was a musician; Alon, and Sammy.

He said two of them joined him since the first day of detention and the third one came on the third day.

Wichian said all four of them would shake hands and did a hand gesture to say “keep on fighting” every day to boost their moral support.

He said that while he was spared from any beating in detention, he saw some of his fellow Israeli hostages beaten by the guards with electrical wires.

Wichian said each of them were fed one piece of pita bread and one date per day when they were kept in the first tunnel for 40 days. When they were moved to the second tunnel, they were given a loaf of bread to share among themselves.

He said they hugged him goodbye when Wichian learned he was going to be released on 26 November.

The IDF official says hundreds of metres from where the three hostages were mistakenly killed, there was a building with "SOS" marked on it.

"We're still looking to see if there's a connection between that building and the hostages," the official says.

He says the IDF will scan the area for more information about the incident.

After a cry for help was heard from the third injured hostage, an IDF official says soldiers opened fire again and that hostage also died.

The official says the three hostages had potentially been "abandoned or escaped".

"I'll say very, very clear. This was against our rules of engagement. I repeat, it was against our rules of engagement," the IDF official says.

He says the killings were "very tragic" and a preliminary Investigation is ongoing "at the highest level".

He says lessons have been learned, and "all the rules of engagement are being sent out again to all the forces".

Image source, HOSTAGE AND MISSING FAMILIES FORUM

The IDF has given more details on how it mistakenly killed three hostages in Gaza on Friday.

An IDF official says one of its soldiers saw the hostages emerging from a building without shirts on, holding a stick with a white cloth on it.

The soldier felt threatened and opened fire, declaring that the men were terrorists, the IDF official says.

Two hostages were killed immediately and one was injured, and ran back into the building.

Then soldiers heard a cry for help in Hebrew, "and immediately the battalion commander issued a ceasefire order", the official adds.

We've just had some breaking news from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who say the three hostages mistakenly killed by the Israeli military yesterday were holding a white cloth on a stick.

We'll bring you more on this as we have it, but as a reminder, the IDF said Yotam Haim, 28, Samer Talalka, 22, and Alon Shamriz, 26, had been mis-identified as a "threat".

The military shared its remorse and said the three were shot by troops operating in Shejaiya, in Gaza's north.

Read more on the incident here and stay with us as we bring you further details from the IDF's report into the deaths.

The three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly killed in Gaza by the Israeli military on Friday had been holding up a white cloth on a stick, the IDF says.

"The hostages were fired upon against Israel's rules of engagement," an IDF official says.

Image source, Reuters

Dozens of mourners have gathered in southern Gaza for the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist and cameraman, Samer Abudaqa, who was killed on Friday in an Israeli strike.

Abudaqa was reporting from a school in Khan Younis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip where Israel has been intensifying its bombardment, when an Israeli drone struck the school, Al Jazeera said.

Abudaqa was there with his colleague, Wael Dahdouh, who survived the attack but needed treatment for wounds caused by shrapnel.

Following Abudaqa's death, Al Jazeera issued a statement saying that they held Israel “fully responsible" and accused it of a "systematic targeting" of its employees and their families.