Herzog to honor 3 hostages killed by IDF after escaping Hamas

President Isaac Herzog has announced that he will honor the heroism of hostages Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz, who were killed by IDF forces while escaping Hamas captivity. The awards will be presented to their families in a ceremony at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. The president will honor the determination, fortitude and special bravery they demonstrated and award their families with a unique certificate of appreciation in the name of the State of Israel. Herzog informed the families and the security services of his intention to award the certificates.  Avi Shamriz, the father of Alon, said that "the president said he recognizes Alon's heroism. He kept his word all along and we cherish that. Our Alon was a hero and I welcome the recognition of the president of the country who honored us and promised to recognize the heroism of the fallen. I am hopeful that now the IDF will also recognize our struggle to recognize Alon. This is something that must be resolved; our Alon led the other two hostages with his professional knowledge from his army days as a soldier - and fell as a hero." (Itamar Eichner, Eitan Glickman)
 