Israel says it mistakenly killed three hostages in Gaza campaign

1. The Israeli military says it mistakenly killed three hostages during its campaign in Gaza, after misidentifying them as a "threat"
2. The IDF has named them as Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz
3. Earlier, Jerusalem was targeted by rockets for the first time since 30 October - though they were intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system
4. The Israeli offensive has continued in Gaza - with residents reporting fighting in northern, central and southern Gaza
5. Meanwhile, Israel says it will allow aid into Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing, a move praised by the White House
6. Hamas broke through Israel's heavily guarded perimeter on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages - some of whom were released during a brief truce
7. The health ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, says more than 18,700 people have been killed and 50,000 injured in the enclave since the start of the Gaza war

We are pausing our coverage for today

It's time for us to pause our coverage for the night.

• To read more about the IDF mistakenly killing three hostages, head here
• A UN aid worker has spoken to our security correspondent Frank Gardner about the nightmare journey to al-Ahli Hospital, which you can read here
• The BBC is keeping a record of the stories of the hostages taken on 7 October - read that here

Coverage of the Israel-Hamas war will resume over the weekend.

Where things stand tonight

Getty Images

It's just gone 00:30 in Israel and Gaza and 22:30 in London. Here is a brief summary of where things stand tonight:

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it mistakenly killed three hostages -Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz - during its campaign in Gaza, after misidentifying them as a "threat"
• The bodies of three more hostages - two Israeli soldiers, Nik Beizer and Ron Scherman, and civilian Elia Toledano - were recovered from Gaza by the IDF earlier
• Rocket attacks were launched against Jerusalem for the first time since 30 October; all were intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system
• White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said Gaza must remain an "integral part" of the Palestinian state
• Israel said it will allow aid to pass through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint into Gaza for the first time since the war began on 7 October – the crossing is usually for goods

The hostages still in Gaza

BBC

Amiram Cooper, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Tsachi Idan

Following the news of the deaths of Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka, we've updated our list of the hostages who were taken from Israel on 7 October and are still being held in Gaza.

An estimated 240 people were taken prisoner by Hamas on that day.

During a temporary ceasefire at the end of November, 105 hostages were released. Israel says some of the hostages who are still unaccounted for are believed to be dead.

• Read it here

More than 18,800 now killed in Gaza

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said this evening that more than 18,800 people are now known to have been killed since Israel launched its retaliatory campaign after the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

Palestinian and Israeli representatives speak at UN General Assembly

The Palestinian and Israeli representatives at the United Nations have each addressed the General Assembly.

For the Palestinians, Riyad Mansour said Israel's assault was a war against "Palestinian history, Palestine presence, Palestinian existence".

He said that Israel was targeting the present and future of Palestinians - by targeting engineers, doctors, poets, academics and journalists. He paid tribute to the Al Jazeera journalist killed today, Samer Abu Daqqa.

Following Mansour, the Israeli representative Gilad Erdan took to the floor.

He condemned the UN resolution earlier this week that called for an immediate ceasefire, describing the vote as "sickening".

He said the ceasefire meant saving the lives of Hamas, and told the UN "you don't give a damn about Israel and our future."

You can watch the UN General Assembly session by clicking play at the top of this page.

IDF investigating accidental killing of three hostages

BBC

IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus has told the BBC that the killing of three Israeli hostages is being investigated.

When asked about the misidentification, he gave two possible reasons.

“One, they were dressed in civilian clothing probably in a similar fashion to what we have seen on Hamas combatants,” he said. He didn’t clarify if the hostages were holding weapons.

“The second one is that before and after this tragic mistake occurred there were clashes in the area between Israeli troops and Hamas combatants,” he said.

US to pay for Rafah crossing upgrade, Netanyahu spokesman says

Benjamin Netanyahu spokesperson for the Arab world says the US "has committed" to fund an upgrade to the Rafah crossing.

"The US has committed to pay for the upgrade of the Rafah crossing as soon as possible to enable the transfer of humanitarian aid only via Rafah after passing Israeli security screening," Ofir Gendelman says in a post to social media.

This comes after Israel confirmed that it would allow aid to pass through the Kerem Shalom goods crossing into Gaza to fulfil its commitment to allow 200 lorries of aid to enter Gaza every day.

Gendelman says in the social media post that the Rafah crossing has the capacity for 100 lorries a day, making the implementation of the agreement between Israel and the US impossible.

Gendelman adds that the use of the Kerem Shalom crossing is a temporary measure.

UN General Assembly meeting on Gaza happening now

The United Nations is holding a General Assembly meeting now on Gaza. Press the play button at the top of the page to watch.

Netanyahu says 'it is an unbearable tragedy'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been reacting to the killing of three Israeli hostages by the IDF. He has called it “an unbearable tragedy”.

He added: “I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the fall of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped... My heart goes out to the grieving families in their difficult time."

Netanyahu praised the soldiers, saying that they "penetrate the sacred mission of returning our abducted, even at the cost of their lives”.

He added that Israel was committed to bringing all the hostages back home:

Even on this difficult evening, we will bind up our wounds, learn the lessons and continue with a supreme effort to return all our abductees home safely."

Benjamin Netanyahu

IDF names third hostage killed by mistake

Hostages and missing families forum

The Israeli military has now released the name of the third and final hostage it's admitted to accidentally killing, after misidentifying the group as a "threat".

Alon Shamriz was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October, officials say, the day Hamas crossed the border into Israel and killed 1,200 people.

In a brief update, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says Shamriz's family have given permission for his name to be published alongside that of Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka - the other two hostages killed.

"The IDF expresses deep sorrow for the incident and shares in the grief of the families," it adds.

Who are the hostages killed mistakenly by the IDF?

Hostages and missing families forum

Yotam Haim

The Israeli military and the hostage families’ forum are now releasing some information about the hostages who were accidentally killed in Gaza by the IDF.

Yotam Haim, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October, was a 28-year-old musician and had been planning to play with his band at the music festival in Tel Aviv on 7 October.

On the morning of the Hamas attack, he called his family and told them that his house was on fire. When he opened the window for some fresh air, Yotam was kidnapped by Hamas.

Samer Talalka, a Bedouin, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am, was 25 years old when he was killed. He lived in the town of Hura and worked at a chicken hatchery in the kibbutz. On the morning of 7 October, he was at work. He called his sister after the attack to tell her that he had been injured by gunfire.

Hostages and missing families forum

Samer Talalka

Father of freed hostage says Israel must initiate a deal to free other hostages

Let's return to the news that three hostages were mistakenly killed by the IDF in Gaza on Friday.

Hen Avigdori, whose wife and daughter were held hostage by Hamas and later released, has posted on X to following the statement from the IDF.

He says that he often hears others say that "there is a possibility of rescuing hostages by military means" and "this is not the time".

But, he adds: "There is no military way. No time."

The conclusion for every person who has both heart and mind is the same: Israel must initiate a deal to bring them back alive and not in coffins. And now."

Avigdori's wife and 12-year-old daughter were held by Hamas for 50 days. When they were released he said they were “fine physically and emotionally” but his daughter Noam has been waking up screaming in the night.

Al-Jazeera journalist killed in Khan Younis

X: Mohamed Moawad

Al Jazeera's managing director posted this photo of Abu Daqqa alongside a tribute to social media

Al Jazeera is reporting that its journalist, Samer Abu Daqqa, has been killed in a missile strike in Khan Younis.

Earlier, we brought you reports that Abu Daqqa and fellow Al-Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh were injured when a missile was fired from a drone near Haifa school in the centre of Khan Younis.

Five hours later, Al-Jazeera reported that medical teams had not been able to reach Abu Daqqa due to rubble blocking the road.

The organisation has now confirmed the employee's death.

IDF fighting in Hamas leader's neighbourhood in Khan Younis

Israeli troops have been fighting Hamas in the area of Khan Younis where the group's leader grew up in, the IDF said on Friday.

Yahya Sinwar's home had already been destroyed in airstrikes and efforts to find him and other Hamas leaders are still ongoing.

Today the IDF released a video which it said showed its troops fighting in the area.

'We are seeing one of the heaviest bombardments yet of Khan Younis' - UN aid worker

Reuters

Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis

Let's take you back to Gaza and our security correspondent Frank Gardner, who is in Jerusalem, has been in touch with a UN aid worker in Rafah. He was told that they were seeing one of the heaviest bombardments yet of Khan Younis on Friday.

IDF says 'immediate lessons' learned from hostage deaths

Here's a bit more from the statement released by the IDF about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three hostages at the hands of the Israeli military.

The IDF says troops fired on the hostages in the northern town of Shejaiya after they were mistakenly identified as a threat.

During subsequent searches and checks in the area, "suspicion arose over the identities of the deceased", the statement says, and their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination.

The statement says "immediate lessons from the event have been learned" and passed on to all IDF troops in the field.

IDF investigating deaths of three hostages

Hugo Bachega

Reporting from Jerusalem

Hostage and Missing Families Forum

Samer Talalka and Yotam Haim - whose deaths were announced by the IDF

The Israeli military says it killed three hostages who were being held in Gaza after they were “mistakenly identified as a threat” in the northern town of Shejaiya.

The bodies have been returned to Israel, and two of the victims were identified as Yotam Haim, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and as Samer Talalka, who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Am.

The family of the third hostage asked for the name to not be revealed.

The Israeli military says the incident is under investigation. Its statement says that "the IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences".

"Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home," it adds.

More than 100 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza after being captured in the 7 October attacks in Israel.

BreakingIDF says three hostages killed in friendly fire

Israel's army says troops killed three hostages after mistaking them for a 'threat', Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari says.

The three were Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka, and a third whose name will not be released right now at the request of the family, Hagari said.

Hagari added that the IDF takes full responsibility for what happened and an investigation has been opened.

We'll bring you more as we get it.

Cameron backs Kerem Shalom opening

The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron has also welcomed the Israeli decision to open the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.

Posting on X, Lord Cameron said:

“Very pleased to see Israel’s decision to open Kerem Shalom. This is something the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and I, along with our partners, have been strongly advocating for. It’s a vital step towards ensuring significantly more life-saving aid can reach people in Gaza.”

The Kerem Shalom crossing has been closed since the war started on 7 October but Israel had previously agreed to allow aid lorries to be inspected there before entering into Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

It is a goods crossing and isn't used for people to cross in and out of Gaza.

US says it is committed to sustaining flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza

As we've been reporting, the US has praised Israel's move to allow aid to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.

The US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US "remained committed" to working with neighbouring countries and aid partners to "sustain the flow of humanitarian assistance" in the Gaza strip.

He added: "We will continue to work closely with Egypt and other partners on the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance through Rafah crossing, and we hope that this new opening will ease congestion and help facilitate the delivery of life-saving assistance to those who need it urgently in Gaza."