Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 72?

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment on the ground in Gaza on Sunday during a visit to troops of the 99th Division.

Addressing the soldiers, Halevi referred to the accidental shooting on Friday of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, saying, "This was a very difficult and painful incident, but one that could very easily have not happened.

"We have set three goals: to dismantle Hamas, to restore security to the residents of the Gaza border area, and the third mission is to recover the hostages."

Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz, and Samer Talalka were all killed by IDF soldiers who opened fire as the hostages approached them as they exited the building where they were kept hostages.

The three were stripped to the waist, with raised hands and waving a white flag. The hostages also shouted out "help" in Hebrew but were misidentified as a threat and shot. 

Signs with 'SOS,' and 'help,' seen in the Gaza building where three Israeli hostages were killed on December 15, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

After the incident, IDF troops discovered the hostages had written "help" and "SOS" in Hebrew and English inside the building in case they were found.

"Three people walked out during this incident," Halevi said. "They took into account that they were taking a risk approaching IDF troops and, to reduce the risk, they really thought about [what to do.] They took off their shirts so that no one would think they had explosives, and they held a white cloth on a pole to identify themselves. They spoke in Hebrew. They called for help."

The family of hostage Alon Shamriz, who was accidentally shot to death by IDF soldiers, requested that he be recognized by the IDF as a fallen soldier, Israeli media reported Sunday. The request was refused by the military. 

Shamriz, who was kidnapped from Kfar Aza on October 7, was mistakenly shot along with fellow hostages Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka over the weekend as they escaped from a building in Gaza and were waving a white flag whilst approaching IDF soldiers and shouting in Hebrew.

"The circumstances of Alon's death are tragic and extreme," the Shamriz family said in a statement. "He fought his way to freedom, along with Yotam and Samer, and together they reached IDF forces, who made a mistake and opened fire even though they were without clothing and carrying a white flag.

"Under these circumstances, it is appropriate that they be recognized as they were: Heroes and warriors, who fell in battle, martyrs of the IDF."

Egypt's Suez canal authority chief said on Sunday the authority is closely monitoring the current tensions in the Red Sea .

The authority is "closely following the consequences of current tensions in the Red Sea on the traffic in the canal," Chairman Osama Rabea said in a statement, adding that maritime traffic in the canal is normal.

Since Nov. 19, 55 ships have rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, while 2,128 have crossed the canal in the same period, the statement added.

The Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to an IDF statement.

Earlier on Sunday, unmanned drones attacked Hezbollah sites, and a tank along with an aircraft attacked weapons storage and observation areas belonging to Hezbollah.

A rocket launch over northern Israeli airspace was detected earlier on Sunday near the Har Dov area, and an IDF tank shot it down.

The Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza opened on Sunday for the first time for aid trucks since the outbreak of the war, a spokesperson from the prime minister's office said.

The crossing had been closed to aid trucks since the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists on Israeli southern communities. Israel agreed to reopen the crossing to aid trucks last week.

Swept up in the bad news frenzy that comes with war – which can hit everyone personally, directly affecting individuals, their family and friends, as well as communally and nationally – the soft stories of humanity tend to escape us: both those of us working in the journalism realm, as well as all of us on the consumer side of it.

In the whirlwind of all this, many journalists fall short in their responsibility of telling the stories of individuals.

IDF soldiers from the Nahal Brigade found an entrance to the tunnels inside a child's bedroom in the area of Jabalia, the IDF said in a statement on Sunday.

The tunnel, originating from the basement of a building, led directly into the room, next to a baby's crib.

The head of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said in a speech over the weekend that the US role in the Middle East is declining. This is not a new statement by the Iranian regime, but it restates some details linking how Iran sees the US role, and also Iran’s view of Israel’s war against Hamas.

The IRGC commander was speaking at a funeral of “unknown martyrs,” which is usually a reference to those victims of the Iran-Iraq war whose bodies could not be identified. After a speech honoring the fallen, the IRGC commander turned his attention to Israel and the US. “We will support Palestine until the end,” he said, adding that “Americans are packing their bags and leaving the region.”

A survey recently conducted among Israel's haredi community has unveiled significant shifts in their attitudes toward Israeli society in light of the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War. 

The survey, conducted by The Haredi Institute for Public Affairs through the polling company Askaria, offered insights into the evolving relationship between the haredi community and the broader Israeli society.

The unique challenges and scenarios faced by forces in Gaza are similar to scenes straight out of war movies. A poignant example occurred on Friday when Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim and Samar Al-Talalka, were tragically killed, just mere meters from freedom.

A misjudgment by a soldier who mistook them for terrorists dramatically altered the outcome. Their story underscores the razor-thin margin between life and death in war, where decisions are made in split seconds, and the rules of engagement are crucial even amid the chaos of battle.