Iris Haim, mother of the hostage Yotam Haim, addresses the battalion involved in the tragic incident in which her son was killed by friendly fire. What gevurah [strength].

“Hello to the Bislach Brigade, battalion 17; this is Iris Haim; I’m Yotam’s mother.

I wanted to tell you that I love you very much, and I embrace you from afar. I know that everything that happened is [entirely] not your fault; it’s nobody’s fault – except the Hamas. May their name and memory be wiped off the face of the earth.

[Your safety is what I ask for] and always keep in your thoughts that what you’re doing is the best possible thing in the world to help us, as the Jewish people, and we all need you to be safe and sound. Don’t hesitate for a single moment – if you see a terrorist, don’t think that you have deliberately killed a hostage. You need to protect yourselves because that’s the only way you [will] be able to protect us.

We invite you to come [to] visit us at the earliest opportunity; whoever is willing; we want to see you with our own eyes and embrace you and tell you that what you have done – as painful as it is to say, and as sad as it is – was likely the right thing to do at that moment… None of us are judging you or angry with you. Not me, not my husband Raviv, not my daughter Noya, not Yotam, of blessed memory, and not Tuval, Yotam’s brother.

We love you very much, and that’s that.”