On December 16, Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Israeli captives trying to surrender. Sending shockwaves among Israelis, thousands of captives' families protested on Friday evening in "Kaplan" Street, now known as the "Hostages Square" in "Tel Aviv", demanding that their government restart negotiations for a new prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance, according to Israeli media.

Experts, however, regarded the incident as an observation of "Israel's" instinct to kill civilians on sight, whether they pose a threat or not, a report by the Time revealed. This has been witnessed excessively in the violent assault and mass murders of Palestinian civilians and has now taken a toll on 3 Israeli lives. 

In light of the incident, Roy Yellin, the director of public outreach with the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, stated, "It's heartbreaking but not surprising. We have documented over the years countless incidents of people who clearly surrendered and who were still shot.” 

In his analysis, Yellin explained that although firing at non-threatening individuals is a clear violation of military ethics codes, Israeli troops find it a natural strategy that is effectively utilized against Palestinians and has not been faulted or punished. 

A military official reviewed the incident and revealed that the Israeli captives, all men in their 20s, waved a white flag and yelled for help in Hebrew, in an attempt to prove that they did not pose any threats. Two were killed on sight and as the third tried to run and hide, he was targeted, shot, and killed by an Israeli soldier. Allegedly, the commanding officer called to halt fire just before the last captive was shot. 

The army's chief, Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi, in an attempt to justify his soldiers' erratic actions, claimed that they had been under pressure on the battlefield. He also went over the rules of engagement with troops and said that anyone who surrenders should not be targeted, claiming that this applies to Palestinians as well, civilians and fighters.

Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regrets following the incident but has yet to impose any change on the IOF's military strategy. This would not be the first time Israeli hostages were killed by their military. Just a few weeks before, in an operation in occupied al-Quds, an Israeli settler raised his hands and opened his blouse in surrender, but was shot by the IOF anyway.

Read more: Families of Israeli captives to escalate protests, demand gov. action

The incident was regarded to echo the illegal executions of Palestinians throughout the years, such as Eyad Hallaq, Shireen Abu Akleh, and countless more across Gaza and the West Bank, throughout the war and preceding it. 

Israeli soldiers have given testimonies to Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group, saying that they were instructed to "shoot anything that moves" if a setting was cleared of civilians. The head of the group, Avner Gvaryahu, raised questions and skepticism over the accuracy of these instructions, based on what has been documented in Gaza since October 7. "How many Palestinians were shot like this?," he asked. 

#Palestinian civilians were found dead in a school where they had taken shelter from Israeli strikes, but the Israeli soldiers followed them there and shot them dead, execution style.#Gaza#GazaUnderAttack#Palestine pic.twitter.com/VTp1TLaPNy

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 14, 2023

Israeli occupation forces claim they do their best to protect civilians, but as the death toll of Palestinian civilians rises to over 19,000, and as "Israel" continues to target residential homes, refugee areas, UN shelters, and hospitals, it has opted to justify its crimes by claiming Hamas fighters are infused with the civilian population; a claim that has been largely overused and pressingly refuted. 

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher with the Institute for "National Security" Studies, a "Tel Aviv" think tank, regretted the incident but insisted on "understanding the context," since they're at war and "it's a sterile environment."

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'Israel's' inherent instinct for genocide 

As much as "Israel" tries to employ the false narrative of Hamas fighters being embedded within Gazan society, several statements and crimes by the Israeli warmonger machine have proven that despite this pretext, it has been and will always be a genocidal entity that seeks out the annihilation of Palestinians. 

In a hateful post on X, the deputy mayor of occupied al-Quds, Aryeh Yitzhak King, called to bury alive hundreds of Palestinian civilians imprisoned by "Israel" since October 7. 

His post specifically referenced recent footage released by the IOF stripping Palestinians to their underwear, as King attempted to justify the act by saying "Muslim Nazis" in Gaza were being eliminated.

"If it were up to me, I would have dispatched D-9 bulldozers and put them behind the mounds of dirt and would have given the order to cover all these hundreds of ants, while they’re still alive," King said in his deleted post.

On Sunday, Israeli tanks raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital and bulldozed refugee tents, burying several Palestinians alive in the process. 

Don't Look Away | This is what the Israeli occupation does to medical personnel, injured patients, and displaced civilians in hospitals.

This is the horrific reality on the ground- where bodies have been brutally mutilated and left to rot at Kamal Adwan hospital. pic.twitter.com/ILilYOittb

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) December 17, 2023

Read more: Palestinian MoH calls for probe into 'Israel' burying Gazans alive

Mark Regev, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's senior advisor, played down the humiliation of Palestinian men in an interview with Britain's Sky News on Saturday, suggesting that the act of forcing Palestinians to strip their clothes as they were rounded up by Israeli soldiers was not a major issue because of the warmer weather in West Asia.

An Israeli senior advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, Mark Regev, justifies arresting #Palestinians in #Gaza naked by saying that it is 'sunny' in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/m4din2VY2S

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 10, 2023

Regev stated that in the Middle East, particularly during sunny days, being asked to take off one's shirt might not be "the end of the world."

"Remember, it’s the Middle East and it’s warmer here, especially during the day when it’s sunny, to be asked to take off your shirt, it might not be pleasant but it’s not the end of the world," Regev said.

Last month, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu suggested that deploying a nuclear weapon on Gaza was among the potential actions in the ongoing war on the besieged enclave. The far-right Minister further argued against providing any humanitarian aid to Gaza, labeling the innocent civilian population in the region as "Nazis".

Eliyahu also underlined that he was staunchly opposed to any humanitarian aid making its way to Gaza, a statement which he backed by saying, "We wouldn't hand the Nazis humanitarian aid."

"There is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza."