Israeli soldiers ignored cries for “help” when they stormed a Gaza building holding three hostages just days before killing them by mistake, said a military investigation published on Thursday.

The soldiers also heard “hostages” shouted in Hebrew on December 10, but interpreted that as a “terrorist deception attempt” by Hamas operatives to lure them into the building in the Gaza City district of Shejaiya, the probe said.

Believing the building was rigged with explosives, the soldiers exited and killed five Hamas operatives trying to escape, it added.

The hostages then probably fled the building also, and on December 15 Israeli soldiers shot them after mistakenly identifying them as a threat, the investigation said.

Two were killed instantly. The third hostage fled and soldiers were ordered to hold fire in order to identify him, the probe said.

Hearing cries of “help!” and “they’re shooting at me”, Israeli commanders asked the surviving hostage to advance towards the soldiers.

But two soldiers “who did not hear the order” because of “noise” from a nearby tank shot him dead.

The three hostages were all shirtless and one had been carrying a white flag.

On December 14, an army drone had identified signs of “SOS” and “help, three hostages” on a building close to where the three hostages were shot.

The army “failed in its mission to rescue the hostages in this event,” army chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement published along with the report of the investigation.

The three fatalities “could have been prevented”, he added.

Soon after the killings of the hostages were announced, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it “broke my heart” and “broke the whole nation’s heart”.

Israel has been mourning the deaths of the hostages identified as Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa.

The killings of the three men, all in their twenties, have sparked protests in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators demanded that the authorities come up with a new plan to bring home the remaining 129 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

About 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas’s October 7 attacks in Israel, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages, Israel launched a massive military offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement that has left much of Gaza in ruins.

The territory’s Hamas government says the war has killed at least 21,320 people, mostly women and children.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A red alert has been issued for dense fog in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh. A thick blanket of fog in the national capital has led to over a hundred flights being delayed. 

Yesterday, the Delhi airport reported delays in approximately 134 flights, both domestic and international, with 35 international departures and 28 international arrivals affected. Additionally, 43 domestic departures and 28 domestic arrivals experienced delays. The situation was no different at the New Delhi Railway Station, where 22 trains were delayed, leaving passengers stranded in the biting cold.

Delhi witnessed a marginal improvement in air quality today, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 356. Despite the slight reprieve, the air quality is expected to linger in the “very poor” category for the next two days.

INSAT imagery released by the Met department yesterday showed a dense fog layer over north India, affecting regions in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and northwest Madhya Pradesh. The impact was evident in low visibility conditions, leading to traffic disruptions and accidents.

The IMD extended its warning, predicting dense fog over Haryana, Punjab for the next five days. Uttar Pradesh is expected to experience dense fog for the next three days, leading the UP State Road Transport Corporation to issue guidelines for bus operations during low visibility conditions.

The Delhi Airport Authority issued an advisory, cautioning that flights not compliant with CAT III standards may face disruptions. The IMD also highlighted potential health risks associated with dense fog, emphasising the presence of particulate matter and pollutants that could adversely affect respiratory health.

The wife of a revenue official has filed a police complaint alleging that her husband, Ashish Gupta, converted to Islam, changed his name to Mohammad Yusuf, and married a Muslim woman in the southern Uttar Pradesh town of Maudaha.

The saga began on September 2 when Ashish Gupta assumed his role as Naib Tehsildar in Maudaha. For days, an unfamiliar figure was seen at the town’s Kachariya Baba Masjid, ardently participating in namaz. The town’s curiosity piqued, an inquiry ensued, revealing the man’s identity as Mohammad Yusuf, a self-proclaimed resident of Kanpur.

However, further probe by the people revealed that Mr Yusuf was none other than the Naib Tehsildar Ashish Gupta himself. Anticipating potential fallouts of the bizarre situation, the mosque’s cleric alerted the police.

A fresh twist emerged with the entry of Mr Gupta’s wife – Aarti Yagyasaini – who filed a case of forced religious conversion and ‘immoral’ marriage of her husband to a woman named Rukshaar. The complaint implicated individuals with unknown identities, adding a new layer of mystery to the story.

Ms Yagyasaini’s police complaint claims Rukhsaar’s father, identified as Munna, along with a cleric from the mosque and several others, orchestrated the conversion on December 24, before the alleged forced wedding.

It remains unclear whether Mr Gupta was forcibly converted to Islam or if he did it on his own accord to legitimise an affair with Rukshaar. All angles are being probed, the police said.