The three escaped hostages killed by Israel Defense Forces soldiers (Three Israeli Hostages Escape Hamas and Are Killed by 'Friendly Fire') were shirtless and waving a white flag as they approached IDF lines.

According to a senior IDF officer familiar with the ongoing investigation, the three men were observed by an IDF soldier exiting a building "several dozen meters away." They were shirtless and carried a stick with a white rag affixed to it. 

The soldier, who believed the men moving toward him was an attempt by Hamas to lure IDF soldiers into a trap, immediately opened fire and shouted “terrorists!” to the other forces.

According to the probe, that soldier killed two of the men, while the third, who was hit and wounded, fled back into the building from which he came.

At that stage, the commander of the battalion, who was also in the building where the soldier shot from, went outside and called on the forces to halt their fire.

Meanwhile, sounds of someone shouting “Help” in Hebrew were heard by the troops in the area.

Moments later, the third man came out of the building to which he fled, and another soldier opened fire at him, killing him.

The initial finding is that the soldiers who opened fire acted contrary to the rules of engagement. However, the IDF provided some important context on how that came to be. The IDF has not encountered civilians in the area where the hostages were killed in several days, but they have killed at least 38 Hamas terrorists.

The only people seen wearing civilian clothing have been Hamas operatives, often unarmed. The operatives collect weapons left behind in various buildings, open fire at troops, and then flee again unarmed to another building.

The IDF has also encountered several seemingly unarmed civilians in Shejaiya, who later turned out to be Hamas suicide bombers.

There have also been several attempts by Hamas in the area to lure soldiers into an ambush.

The IDF had not considered the possibility that hostages would flee captivity and wander around the battlefield. New rules of engagement have been issued to take into account that scenario. The IDF also reports that on Wednesday, soldiers encountered "a building with spray paint on the wall reading “SOS” in English, and another spray-painted message reading, in Hebrew, “Help, three hostages.” Fearing the building was booby-trapped, it was avoided. That building is now being investigated.

It's easy to Monday-morning quarterback a young, frightened, probably sleep-deprived soldier over the actions that led to this tragedy. Rarely does complete information exist in combat. Soldiers have to use their training and experience to fill in the gaps and try to make the right decision. When you put incomplete information into the context of suicide bombers and terrorists operating with neither uniforms nor weapons, it is easy to see how this came to be.

Regardless of the outcome of the IDF investigation, the one salient fact to keep in mind is that none of this would've happened had Hamas not attacked peaceful Jewish settlements on October 7. Every single death in this conflict emanates from that event, and Hamas alone is to blame for all the deaths on both sides.