Israeli hostages shot dead by IDF troops in Gaza were holding up WHITE FLAG and stripped to the waist when they were mistaken for Hamas terrorists

Three Israeli hostages shot dead by IDF troops had been holding up a white flag on a stick and were shirtless when they were mistaken for Hamas terrorists, a military official has said.

Yotam Haim, 28, Alon Shamriz, 26, and Samer El-Talalka, 22, were tragically gunned down during Israeli operations in Gaza City, it was revealed yesterday.

The incident, which has sparked fury on the streets of Tel Aviv, happened in an area of intense combat where Hamas operate in civilian clothing and use deception tactics.

The hostages were fired upon against Israel's rules of engagement, the official confirmed.

The Israeli military said a soldier saw the hostages emerging tens of meters from Israeli forces in the area of Shejaiya.

'They're all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they're terrorists, they (forces) open fire, two are killed immediately,' said the military official.

The third hostage was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew.

'Immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there's another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also dies,' said the official. 'This was against our rules of engagement,' he added.

The three hostages were among about 250 people snatched during Hamas's October 7 attacks in Israel, which killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to 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 the Gaza Strip in ruins. 

The Hamas-run territory's health ministry says the war has killed at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children.

Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday that during fighting in Shejaiya district of Gaza City, troops 'mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result, fired toward them and the hostages were killed'.

The military said later it had started 'reviewing the incident' and that 'immediate lessons from the event have been learned' and passed on to all troops on the ground.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described their deaths as an 'unbearable tragedy'.

Mr Haim was abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Mr Talalka, 22, was snatched from Kibbutz Nir Am on October 7.

The third victim, Mr Shamriz was a 26-year-old computer engineering student born to Iranian parents.

The families of the hostages had been desperately trying to get them home since they disappeared more than two months ago. 

The death of the three hostages sparked anger in Israel, with protesters marching last night to share their anguish and fury.

Scenes from Tel Aviv showed crowds of people, many themselves the families of people kidnapped by Hamas, taking to the streets with banners to mourn and call for the return of Israelis trapped in Gaza.

Protesters held signs calling for an immediate hostage exchange, showed pictures of loved ones now missing for nearly ten weeks while an Israeli flag coated in red paint was left outside the ministry of defence.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the defence ministry, including Merav Svirsky, sister of Hamas-held hostage Itay Svirsky, who said: 'I am dying of fear. We demand a deal now.'

It comes amid growing international concern about the Israeli operation in the region. 

The offensive has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million from their homes. 

On Saturday, the besieged Gaza Strip was suffering from a prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections, while the United Nations said hunger levels had spiralled in recent days. 

Internet and telephone lines went down on Thursday evening and were still inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel's war against Gaza's ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week.

'The internet blackout is ongoing, and based on our records it is the longest such incident' in the over-two-month war, said Alp Toker, the group's director.

The United Nations' humanitarian affairs department said communications with Gaza were 'severely disrupted' due to damage to telecommunications lines in the south.

Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

The United States, Israel's closest ally, has expressed unease over Israel's failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to offer wholehearted support with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing.

In meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday and Friday, United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed a timetable for winding down the intense combat phase of the war.

The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, was also expected to visit Israel soon to discuss the issue.

The US has pushed Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, and the government said it would open a second entry point to speed up deliveries.

With only a trickle of aid able to enter and distribution disrupted by fighting, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) reported a surge from 38% to 56% in the number of displaced households experiencing severe levels of hunger in the space of under two weeks.

In the north, where aid has been unable to enter, 'households ... are expected to face a catastrophic situation,' the WFP said.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered again across the UK this weekend to call for an end to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

In north London, about 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Camden to call for a ceasefire, with some shouting 'from the river to the sea Palestine will be free'.