On Thursday, Israel’s military stated that five soldiers were killed by friendly fire in Gaza’s north, where fierce fighting has resumed more than seven months into its war against Hamas militants.
In a statement, the military stated, “The soldiers were killed on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip”.
The latest casualties bring the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza military campaign to 278 since the ground offensive began on October 27.
“Five soldiers of the 202nd Paratrooper Battalion were killed last night in a mass casualty incident as a result of fire by our forces”, the Israeli military continued, adding that seven other soldiers were injured.
The military went on to say, “Two tanks in the area, which has seen particularly fierce fighting in recent days, opened fire on a house used by the Israeli battalion’s deputy commander”.
“The shooting consisted of two tank shells”, the statement reads.
“From the initial investigation… it appears that the tank fighters, from the ultra-Orthodox paratrooper company Hetz, identified a gun barrel coming out of one of the windows in the building, and directed each other to shoot at the building”, the statement added.
On December 12, the military stated that more than a tenth of its troops killed in Gaza at that time were the result of Israeli fire, with some casualties caused by accidents.
Fighting has erupted in recent days in the northern Gaza Strip, with an army official claiming attempts by Hamas to rebuild its military capabilities months after Israel pronounced the Palestinian armed group’s command structure in the area dissolved.
Fierce fights and heavy Israeli bombing have been reported in north Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp and the central Nuseirat camp since the army launched a targeted assault aimed at the southern city of Rafah in early May.
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