Mother of Soldier Killed by Friendly Fire Slams Ex-Hostages Chief

Iris Haim, the mother of Yotam Haim, who was mistakenly killed by IDF fire in Gaza, has sharply criticized retired Major General Nitzan Alon. Haim's criticism follows a charged post she published against the former head of the Hostages Directorate, targeting Alon's role in the events that led to her son's death and his claims regarding the torpedoing of hostage deals.

In an interview with i24NEWS, Haim stated that Alon failed to take responsibility for the failures of the unit under his command. She explained that while officers claimed to have precise information on Yotam's location, they actually lost contact with him during the week he escaped with fellow hostages in Shuja'iyya, ultimately leading to the tragic outcome. Haim alleged a severe intelligence failure, noting that her family passed on a suspicious conversation from a Hamas operative to intelligence services, but it was dismissed as "fake news" while the hostages were already in Gaza streets.

She added that senior officers admitted their mistakes, but Alon himself, according to Haim, has never spoken with her in the past three years. "It really bothered me that someone of Nitzan Alon's rank does not take responsibility. I would expect him to do so if he wants to blame someone," Haim said, urging Alon to stop blaming others for sabotaging deals and to conduct a thorough personal reckoning.

Haim emphasized that a commander of Alon's rank is expected to take full responsibility for the tragedy, face the bereaved families, and acknowledge the operational and intelligence failures that led to her son's death.