The father of one of the three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by the IDF in Gaza grieved and lashed out at Israel’s leaders on Tuesday.
Avi Shamriz’ son, Alon, was killed along with two other Israeli hostages after they apparently escaped from Hamas custody and attempted to surrender to Israeli forces. IDF forces mistook them for Hamas terrorists and opened fire.
‘I’m going to say this [to] the government. You murdered my son twice,’ the distraught father told NBC News. ‘You let Hamas take my son on Oct. 7, and you killed my son on Dec. 14.’
Shamriz’ message comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to engage in another round of hostage negotiations with Hamas. Israel believes there are over 100 hostages still in Hamas custody, though it is unclear how many of them remain alive.
Senior members of Netanyahu’s government have accepted blame for the lack of vigilance that allowed the Oct. 7 massacre to occur. His administration argues that the war in Gaza must continue, lest Hamas make good on its promises to repeat its atrocities.
‘They are not thinking about the hostages. They are not thinking about us,’ Shamriz said of Netanyahu’s government. ‘They are thinking only of themselves.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has warned that the war against Hamas is likely to last many more months. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Israel on Monday to urge Israel to scale back its war after the end of December.
President Biden’s administration is also pushing Israel to re-open hostage negotiations with Hamas in Qatar. CIA Director William Burns and Mossad chief David Barnea met in Qatar earlier this week, but there has been little progress toward a new deal.
Hamas terrorists broke off the initial exchange agreement in early December, launching a series of attacks and refusing to hand over certain hostages.
