The Israeli army acknowledged responsibility on Thursday for killing three soldiers during a ground operation earlier this month in the Gaza Strip after mistaking them for a threat.
The soldiers were being held captive by the Palestinian group Hamas in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
On Dec. 15, the army announced that "three Israeli hostages in Gaza, mistakenly identified as a threat, were shot and killed in Al-Shujaiya," without specifying their identities as soldiers in its ranks.
Speaking at a press conference, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said "the army leadership feels responsible for the killing of our captive soldiers during a failed attempt to liberate them."
Halevi added that "the Israeli Defense Forces failed in the mission to rescue the captives in this incident."
He considered the accidental killing of the soldiers a "serious incident with very severe consequences."
The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, confirmed the news at the same press conference, saying "the army bears responsibility for the killing of the three soldiers."
He said "the soldiers who fired at the three captives and killed them were under great pressure."
According to official Israeli data, the number of army fatalities has reached 501 officers and soldiers since the start of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7.
