Israel Faces New Truce Calls As Errant Killing Of Captives Adds To Concern About Its Wartime Conduct

Israel’s government faced local protests and calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who were waving a white flag, added to mounting concerns about its conduct in the 10-week-old war in Gaza.

The protesters are calling on the government to renew hostage negotiations with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whom it has vowed to destroy. Israel could also face pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week, as Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties even while providing vital military and diplomatic support.

The air and ground war has flattened large parts of northern Gaza, killed thousands of civilians and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are packed into crowded shelters and tent camps, surviving off a trickle of humanitarian aid. Some 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85% of Gaza’s population — have fled their homes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will continue to fight until the end,” with the goal of eliminating Hamas, which triggered the war with its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people that day, mostly civilians, and captured scores of hostages.

Netanyahu vowed to bring back the estimated 129 hostages still in captivity. Israeli media reported that David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, met over the weekend with Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has mediated with Hamas, to discuss renewed talks.
Gaza meanwhile remained under a communications blackout for a fourth straight day — the longest of several outages during the war, which aid groups say complicate rescue efforts and make it even more difficult to monitor the toll on civilians.

In a sign of desperation, dozens of Palestinians surrounded aid trucks after they drove in through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, forcing them to stop before climbing aboard, pulling the boxes down and carrying them off.

Military officials said Saturday that the three hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops had tried to signal that they posed no harm. It was Israel’s first such acknowledgement of harming hostages in a war that it says is largely aimed at rescuing them.

The three hostages, all in their 20s, were killed Friday in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops are engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas. An Israeli military official said the shootings were against the army’s rules of engagement and were being investigated at the highest level.

Israel says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields. But Palestinians and rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of recklessly endangering civilians and firing on those who do not threaten them, both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, which has seen a surge of violence since the start of the war.

At least five Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid in a built-up refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday.

Last week, Israel said it was opening a military police investigation after an Israeli rights group posted videos that appeared to show troops killing two men — one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed — during a West Bank raid