Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 2 Al-Baqarah, Ayat 58-59

وَاِذۡ قُلۡنَا ادۡخُلُوۡا هٰذِهِ الۡقَرۡيَةَ فَکُلُوۡا مِنۡهَا حَيۡثُ شِئۡتُمۡ رَغَدًا وَّادۡخُلُوا الۡبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَّقُوۡلُوۡا حِطَّةٌ نَّغۡفِرۡ لَـكُمۡ خَطٰيٰكُمۡ​ؕ وَسَنَزِيۡدُ الۡمُحۡسِنِيۡنَ‏ ﴿2:58﴾ فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِيۡنَ ظَلَمُوۡا قَوۡلاً غَيۡرَ الَّذِىۡ قِيۡلَ لَهُمۡ فَاَنۡزَلۡنَا عَلَى الَّذِيۡنَ ظَلَمُوۡا رِجۡزًا مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَفۡسُقُوۡنَ‏  ﴿2:59﴾

(2:58) And recall when We said: “Go into this town74 and eat abundantly of its food; but enter the gate prostrate, saying, “Repentance”.75We will forgive you your sins and shall bestow more favour on the doers of good.” (2:59) Then the wrong-doers substituted another saying for that which had been given them; and so We sent down a scourge upon the wrong-doers from the heavens for their transgression.

Notes

74. It has not yet been possible to arrive at any conclusion about the identity of the locality mentioned here. The series of events in the context of which God's command to enter the city is mentioned belong to the period of the exodus of the Children of Israel in the Sinai peninsula. It is therefore probable that the place mentioned in this verse is some Sinaitic city. Another plausible suggestion is that it is Shattim, which was located opposite Jericho on the eastern bank of the river Jordan. According to the Bible the Israelites conquered this town during the last years of the life of Moses. After the conquest the Israelites became so decadent that God smote them with a plague from which twenty-four thousand died (Numbers 25: 1-9).

75. God's command was to enter the city not with the arrogance of tyrannical conquerors, but with the humility of men of God (in the manner in which the Prophet would later enter Makka at the time of its conquest).

As for 'hit ' tah', it could either mean that when they entered the town they should seek God's pardon for their sins or that instead of plundering and massacring people in the wake of their conquest, they should proclaim an amnesty.