Gaza, Jan 1 (IANS): At least 29 Israel Defense Force (IDF) personnel have been killed in friendly fire since the beginning of hostilities between Hamas and Israel.
“Out of 170 soldiers killed in Gaza, 29 have been killed by so-called friendly fire and other incidents,” Times of Israel’s military correspondent Emanuel Fabian has said while quoting data released by the IDF.
Fabian said that 18 soldiers were killed by friendly fire due to mistaken identification while two soldiers were killed by gunfire that was unintended to hit them.
“Nine soldiers were killed in accidents, including accidental weapon discharges, being run over, and being hit by shrapnel from controlled demolitions,” the journalist said.
He said that since the beginning of the ground operation, between two and six soldiers have been killed per week in incidents of friendly fire or accidents.