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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Emine Sinmaz in Jerusalem

‘He was so close to coming home’: mother’s agony over Israeli hostage killed by IDF

Iris Haim
Iris Haim: ‘It could ruin me but I’ve decided that I don’t want to think about this last moment.’ Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum/The Guardian

Iris Haim cannot bear to think about how close her kidnapped son came to freedom before he was mistakenly shot dead by Israeli soldiers. After being held captive by Hamas in Gaza for more than two months, Yotam Haim and two other Israeli hostages escaped and evaded their captors for five days, only to be killed by the IDF.

Haim has repeatedly insisted she does not blame the soldiers who mistakenly identified Yotam as a threat. But she said it was devastating to know how close she had come to being reunited with the 28-year-old, who had dreamed of becoming a professional musician.

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