"During the fighting in Shujaiyye, the IDF mistakenly identified 3 Israeli hostages as a threat, opened fire as a result, and the hostages were killed," the IDF said yesterday in a statement on the death of the Israeli hostages. The statement said that the 3 dead were kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October and added: "The IDF immediately began to investigate the incident. The IDF emphasises that this is an active war zone with ongoing clashes over the past few days."

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a statement on the death of the hostages, emphasising that there are lessons to be learned from the incident. The IDF announced on 12 December that 20 of the 105 soldiers killed in clashes in the Gaza Strip died as a result of "friendly fire and other accidents". Authorities also said on 12 December that a total of 135 people had been kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October.