The Israeli military has mistakenly killed three hostages held in Gaza after wrongly identifying them as a threat.
The Israeli Defence Forces said the victims, all three Israeli men in their 20s, were killed during combat with Hamas militants.
The victims were identified as Samer Talalka, 22, Yotam Haim, 28, and Alon Shamriz, 26.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called their deaths an “unbearable tragedy” and vowed to continue “with a supreme effort to return all the hostages home safely”.
Image: (L-R) Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz
“Together with the entire people of Israel, I bow my head in deep sorrow and mourn the death of three of our dear sons who were kidnapped,” Mr Netanyahu said.
“My heart goes out to the grieving families in their difficult time.”
Hamas abducted more than 240 people in their attack on 7 October which triggered the war. More than 100 hostages still remain captive, according to Israeli authorities.
Demonstrations calling for the safe return of the hostages take place nearly every day in Israel – including one on Friday, where hundreds of protesters blocked Tel Aviv’s main highway.
The victims: ‘Gifted musician, avid motorcyclist and dedicated fan’
The three hostages were killed in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have been engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas militants.
A statement by the IDF said they had “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result, the troops fired toward them and they were killed”.
The military expressed “deep remorse” and said it “began reviewing the incident immediately”.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, which represents the families of hostages, expressed its condolences and paid tribute to the victims.
It said that “Yotam was a gifted musician and dedicated metal music fan who idolised the band Megadeth” while “Samer was an avid motorcyclist who loved to ride around the countryside and spend time with friends”.
The forum added: “Alon’s family and friends described him as a lover of life and a dedicated basketball fan.”
Al Jazeera camera operator killed
In southern Gaza, al Jazeera said an Israeli strike in the city of Khan Younis had killed cameraman Samer Abu Dakka and wounded its chief correspondent in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh.
Mr Dahdouh, a veteran of covering Israel-Gaza wars whose wife and children were killed by an Israeli strike earlier in the current conflict, was wounded by shrapnel in his right arm.
Image: Samer Abu Daqqa
Speaking from a hospital bed, Mr Dahdouh told the network that he managed to walk to an ambulance.
But Mr Dakka lay bleeding in the school and died hours later.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.