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The three Israeli hostages who escaped Hamas only to be mistakenly killed by the IDF were stripped to the waist and waving a white flag at the time, according to a new report.

Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka, and Alon Shamriz were all shirtless when an Israel Defense Forces soldier stationed in a building in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City noticed them exiting a nearby structure, the Times of Israel reported, citing the IDF’s initial probe.

One of the men – all of whom were kidnapped by Hamas from southern Israel on Oct. 7 – was also holding a makeshift white flag, a senior officer in the Southern Command told the outlet.

The IDF soldier, however, believed the men were trying to lure him into a trap, and opened fire while shouting “terrorists!” to the other forces, the report found.

Two of the hostages were killed immediately, while the third was wounded and fled back into the building they came out of, the Times of Israel explained.

The commander of the battalion then went outside the building the soldiers shot from, and called for the troops to hold their fire.

Around that time, troops in the area could hear someone shouting for “help” in Hebrew, the report claimed.

The third hostage then emerged again from the building, prompting a soldier to open fire and kill him.

It was only after the third man had been killed that the battalion commander noticed his appearance was unusual, according to the Times of Israel.

All three bodies were taken to Israel for identification.

The soldier who opened fire immediately after seeing the three men was acting against protocols — as was the second soldier who killed the third hostage, the senior officer who spoke to the Times of Israel said.

All three bodies were taken to Israel for identification.

But the scenario of hostages walking around a battle area was not taken into account by the IDF, the Times of Israel noted.

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IDF troops have killed at least 38 terrorists in Shejaiya over the past few days and have not identified any Gazan civilians, the officer told the outlet.

The only individuals seen in civilian clothing have been Hamas operatives — who then collect abandoned weapons, and use them to fire at IDF soldiers before fleeing, the report said.