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Hundreds of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday after the Israeli army said it had mistakenly killed three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Protesters, among them relatives of the hostages, gathered outside the military headquarters to demanding a ceasefire deal that would lead to the release of the remaining hostages.
The deaths were announced as US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Israel to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce military operations in Gaza “sooner rather than later.”
“Time is running out Bring them home now!” the protesters chanted using megaphones.
Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, at least 14 Palestinians died from air strikes that hit two houses on Old Gaza Street in Jabaliya and dozens more were killed in a separate air strike that hit another home in Jabaliya, the official Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.
It also said a large number of civilians were trapped under rubble.
Since the war began, close to 19,000 people have been killed in Gaza, sparking international demands for a ceasefire.
Also, a prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery in Gaza on Saturday.
Internet and telephone lines had gone down on Thursday evening and were still inaccessible on Saturday morning, AP reported, citing internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org.
Blocking traffic
In Tel Aviv, the protesters had begun gathering late on Friday and continued marching and blocking traffic into Saturday.
The Israeli military identified the dead as Yotam Haim and Shamriz, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza by Hamas on October 7, and Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am.
The army said on Friday that its forces in Gaza mistook the hostages as a threat during combat in Shejaiya, and “fired toward them”.
“During searches and checks in the area in which the incident occurred, a suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
“Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination, after which it was confirmed that they were three Israeli hostages.”
The Israeli military said that the area where the incident took place is “an active combat zone in which continuing fighting over the last few days has occurred”, adding that “immediate lessons from the event have been learnt”.
Citing an initial probe, local Israeli media reported on Saturday that the three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot dead were shirtless and waving a white flag.
A senior Israeli officer in the Southern Command said a soldier stationed in the Shejaiya neighbourhood saw three shirtless men - one was carrying a stick with a makeshift white flag.
The soldier who fired at them mistakenly believed that the men were members of Hamas, and were moving towards them as part of a trap.
Two men were killed on the spot, according to the reports, while the third was wounded and fled into a building.
When the third hostage came back outside, he was shot by another soldier.
Remaining hostages
Some 130 hostages remain in Gaza amid Israel’s intensified ground operations and bombing campaign against Hamas.
A total of 110 hostages, taken prisoners during the 7 October attacks on Israel, were earlier released as part of a Qatar-negotiated prisoner exchange deal.
Under the deal between Hamas and Israel, 180 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails and a six-day ceasefire also allowed humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza.
Netanyahu says 'Unbearable tragedy'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the mistaken killing of hostages by Israeli troops an “unbearable tragedy”.
“Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our hostages, including Yotam Haim and Samer Fouad Talalka,” he said on X.
“This is an unbearable tragedy and all of Israel is grieving their loss this evening. My heart goes out to the bereaved families at this difficult time.
“Today, on this painful evening, we will dress our wounds, learn the lessons and continue the most important effort of bringing all the hostages home,” the Prime Minister said.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum also expressed its sorrow at the loss of the three hostages killed.
According to the forum, Mr Talalka, 25, had been the eldest of 10 children and was reportedly wounded by Hamas gunfire when he was initially kidnapped in early October.
The forum added that Mr Haim, a lifelong drummer, had been in his home during Hamas's attack on southern Israel when the terrorists set it on fire. After he opened the window to escape the smoke, he was abducted.
Israel army had earlier recovered the bodies of hostages CPL Nik Beizer, 19, and Sgt Ron Sherman, 19, who were abducted by Hamas.
The body of 28-year-old Elia Toledano, who was taken hostage, has also been recovered by the special forces in an operation in Gaza and taken to Israel this week.
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
