5 Israeli paratroopers killed, 7 wounded by friendly-fire in northern Gaza
May 16 (UPI) -- Five Israeli soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a friendly-fire incident in northern Gaza after they were mistakenly targeted by tank artillery fire, the Israeli military said.
The victims, all paratroopers from the 202nd Brigade, were hit when a tank supporting an operation in the Jabalia refugee camp fired two shells at a building where they had established a makeshift post at around 7 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to a preliminary Israel Defense Forces investigation.
The tank opened fire after identifying the presence of a weapon in the building.
The IDF named the dead as Sgt. Ilan Cohen, 20; Staff Sgt. Betzalel David Shashuah, 21; Staff Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim, 22; Sgt. Daniel Chemu, 20; and Cpt. Roy Beit Yaakov, 22.
Three of the seven soldiers injured are in serious condition.
The incident occurred after the Israeli military returned to the area north of Gaza City after previously drawing down its forces, saying Hamas had re-established a presence -- prompting a mass exodus from Jabalia.
Troops re-entered the camp Monday after two days of IDF airstrikes that have seen tens of thousands of Palestinians flee the area.
The latest casualties bring the number of Israeli soldiers killed in friendly-fire incidents at least 49 out of a total death toll of 278 since the IDF launched its ground invasion of Gaza at the end of October.
A further 1,712 soldiers have been wounded, 338 of them seriously with another 566 suffering "moderate" injuries.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said in a social media post Thursday that IDF military action had killed 39 Palestinians in the past 24 hours and injured 64. The latest casualties brought the total number of deaths since Oct. 7 to 35,272 with 79,205 people injured, the Hamas-run ministry said.
