On January 1, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that of the 172 Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the Gaza offensive in late October 2023, 30 were due to "incidents".
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| Israeli troops during an invasion of the Gaza Strip. (Source: the Time of Israel) |
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that since the beginning of the operation to land in the Gaza Strip in late October 2023, a total of 172 Israeli soldiers have been killed. This includes 30 people who died in incidents such as "accidental shooting" of 19 people, 9 people due to misfired weapons and 2 people were hit by stray bullets.
The incidents were caused by mistaken identification of friendly fire by Israel, including airstrikes. Nine soldiers were killed in accidents, including accidental discharge of weapons, being run over by armored vehicles and being hit by shrapnel from controlled demolitions.
Also according to IDF data, since the start of ground operations, between two and six soldiers have died each week due to fires or accidents caused by fellow soldiers.
The IDF assessed that there were numerous causes for the fatal accidents, including the large number of forces operating in Gaza, communication problems between forces, soldier exhaustion and disregard for regulations.
There are now tens of thousands of infantry, tanks and other troops in Gaza taking part in Israel's ground offensive against Hamas, which operates in the densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The military said it is continuously assessing ongoing engagements, including instances of accidental fire, and is quickly applying lessons learned.
However, the IDF has repeatedly praised the cooperation between the different services, especially the aircraft providing close air support to the troops on the ground.
According to IDF data, 937 soldiers have been injured in the ground campaign so far, of which 211 were seriously injured, 347 were moderately injured, and 379 were lightly injured.
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