IDF: Soldiers 'being supported' after 'terrible mistake' and military will 'learn lessons'

The IDF soldiers who mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages yesterday are being "supported" after the "terrible mistake"، a spokesman has said، without confirming if they had been removed from duty.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht told Sky News the killings were not "intentional".

"It was a terrible and tragic mistake،" he said، adding that he would not share the details of discussions held with the soldiers after the incident.

"I can tell you first of all we're going to hug them.  I'm sure they're feeling terrible after this tragedy،" he said.

Asked what this means for the Israeli military professionalism، Lt Col Hecht said the IDF has been "in a very hard battlefield" fighting against what he described as "Satan's army".

"They are not fighting like regular soldiers، they are wearing civilian clothes، they're doing very manipulative actions on the ground، popping out of tunnels، firing from behind civilians،" he said.

The officer said the IDF had provided "full transparency" which "not a lot of militaries" do.

 "We will learn our lessons - we said this is against our rules of engagement،" said Lt Col Hecht.

He pointed to a "very complex" battlespace in Gaza and said the IDF is doing "everything it can" to minimise casualties.

"There's been multiple successes and there will also be mistakes،" he said.