Israeli military says it lost five soldiers in Gaza in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind since the war began in October.
The dead include a platoon commander and four soldiers from Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade. Eight other soldiers were wounded by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) tank fire
The incident brings the Gaza death toll since the start of the ground invasion on Oct 27 to 273 and to 621 on all fronts since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7.
Israeli forces are currently engaged in a major operation in Jabalia to suppress a Hamas insurgency. A friendly-fire incident took place at an axis captured during a raid on Wednesday morning, involving two tanks.
Around noon, soldiers were said to have accessed a building a few metres from the tanks. According to a preliminary investigation, the tank crews were oblivious that the 202nd Battalion had set up field headquarters in the building and fired on what they presumed were enemy fighters.
“The army still does not know the reason for the shooting and the apparent deviation from the boundaries of the sector, since the armored force that erred organically belongs to the 202nd Battalion’s combat team, so it is not clear how such a fatal mistake occurred,” the military said