The three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly killed by the Israeli army in Gaza on 15 November were waving a white flag before the military opened fire on them.
The soldiers violated the rules of engagement, the IDF stressed.
The tragic deaths of the hostages underscores the risk to the more than 120 people Israel says remain in captivity after being kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
In a written statement sent to the New York Times describing the results of the preliminary investigation, an army spokesman said their soldiers were operating in Shejaiya, an area of Gaza City where intense fighting is taking place. The soldiers were on the lookout for Hamas attempts to ambush Israeli forces, possibly in civilian clothes.
The three hostages emerged half-naked from a building tens of metres away from the Israeli soldiers, carrying a white cloth pole. One of the soldiers, believing they posed a threat, opened fire, killing two of them and wounding the third.
The third civilian fled and hid in the building, from which cries for help could be heard in Hebrew. The battalion commander ordered the forces to cease fire. Later, however, the wounded hostage reappeared, whereupon he was shot.
In a briefing with reporters, an Israeli military official called the incident a "violation of military regulations."
The hostages may have escaped or been abandoned by their captors, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity under military protocol.
The military identified the three slain men as Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz, both kidnapped from Kfar Aza kibbutz. The third man, Samer Talalka, was abducted from the kibbutz of Nir Am, near the Gaza border.
"This is a sad and painful incident for all of us," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the army's chief spokesman, said earlier. He promised "full transparency" while the military investigates how the tragedy unfolded, and noted that the Israel Defense Forces bear "responsibility for everything that happened."
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza will speak about the tragedy at a gathering near Israeli army headquarters in what is known as "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, a spokesman for the group Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, called the deaths of the three hostages "an unbearable tragedy". Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader who has strongly criticised Netanyahu, said in a social media post that he sympathised with the families. / BGNES
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