Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says the accidental shooting of Israelis by IDF 'broke my heart' but insists his troops must keep up military pressure on Hamas as families of hostages demand the government act now to bring their loved ones home

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the army's killing of three hostages in Gaza in a case of mistaken identity was heart-breaking, but 'military pressure is necessary' to bring the other captives home.

'It broke my heart. It broke the whole nation's heart,' he said of the deaths, while adding: 'With all the deep sorrow, I want to clarify: the military pressure is necessary both for the return of the kidnapped and for achieving victory over our enemies.'

The news of their killing has sparked furious protests on the streets of Tel Aviv, with the families of hostages held in Gaza calling on the government to make an urgent deal to secure their release amid concern that their loved ones could be next. 

'All we get again and again are dead hostages,' Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, said at an event in Tel Aviv organised by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

'Our demand is not a fight (with the government). It's a call that anyone would have made if it had been their father. Take us into consideration and come up with a plan now (for negotiation).'

Netanyahu appeared to confirm on Saturday that new negotiations were under way to recover hostages held by Hamas, after a source said Israel's intelligence chief met the prime minister of Qatar, a country mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Saturday's press conference, Netanyahu called the conflict an existential war that must be fought until victory, despite pressure and costs, and said Gaza would be demilitarised and placed under Israeli security control.

He said Israel's offensive in Gaza had helped clinch a partial hostage release deal in November and vowed to maintain intense military pressure on Hamas, the terrorist group that runs Gaza and that he has vowed to destroy.

'The instruction I am giving the negotiating team is predicated on this pressure, without which we have nothing,' he said.

Netanyahu spoke after the head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, met Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe late on Friday, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, and attention turned to a possible new Gaza truce and a prisoner and hostage deal.

Netanyahu sidestepped a question about the meeting, but confirmed he had given instructions to the negotiating team.

'We have serious criticisms of Qatar... but right now we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages,' he said, alluding to the gas-rich Gulf state's ties to Hamas and Israel's arch-foe Iran.

A Hamas statement said the group 'affirms its position not to open any negotiations to exchange prisoners unless the aggression against our people stops once and for all,' adding: 'The movement communicated this position to all mediators'. 

It comes as the Israeli army said the three hostages killed by troops in Gaza on Friday were carrying a white flag and had cried for help in Hebrew.

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

The incident 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, a military official confirmed. 

The Israeli military said a soldier saw the hostages emerging tens of metres from Israeli forces in the area of Shejaiya. The IDF previously said the three men had been wrongly identified as a threat. 

Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old soldier Itai, who is among the hostages taken by Hamas, said: 'We feel like we're in a Russian roulette game (finding out) who will be next in line to be told the death of their loved one.'

'They explained to us first that the ground operation would bring back the abductees,' he said.

'It doesn't work. Because since then, abductees have been seen returning, but not so much alive. It's time to change this assumption,' he added.

Recently released hostages Agam Goldstein Almog, 17, and Maya Regev, 21,  attended a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, with Almog speaking in front of the protesters. 

Around 250 people were taken hostage during Palestinian terrorist group Hamas's October 7 attacks on 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 offensive against the Palestinian Islamist movement that has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins.

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