Iris Haim, mother of Yotam Haim – the hostage mistakenly shot and killed by the IDF in the tragic incident in Gaza last weekend, sent a message today (Wednesday) to the soldiers who shot her son, per Kann News: that she loves and appreciates them, that she has no anger or sense of blame, and she supports them and understands the complex situation they were in.
Haim told of how Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said her son would receive a medal from the IDF, even though he did not serve for medical reasons.
Yotam Haim ob”m was kidnapped from Kfar Aza on the day of the October 7 Massacre and was mistakenly shot and killed by IDF forces in the Strip. During his time in captivity, his mother Iris gave multiple interviews, working to bring about his release. That terrible day, he wrote her “Mom, they’re taking everything from me, burning my home, I just hope to survive,” after which contact was lost.
After seventy days in captivity with two additional hostages, he was mistakenly identified as a terrorist and killed by IDF fire. Iris eulogized him:
“Sometimes I felt that you came from a parallel universe, and that life here on earth makes no sense to you. We had so many conversations on your struggles, your courage, your choice to get up every morning and continue to live alongside the so very difficult suffering for you. There were good days of happiness with friends, with your brothers Meir and Tuval. Alongside the difficulty there was flourishing, progress in playing music. You wanted to be famous, to be a drummer everyone knew, you spoke of a better world, you wanted the world to be better without evil and revenge.”