"Friendly fire" victims

Israeli army accidentally kills its own soldiers

Israeli attack on Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip

(Bild: AFP)

Five Israeli army soldiers have apparently been killed by friendly fire in the north of the Gaza Strip. As Israeli media reported on Thursday, the fatal "friendly fire" mishap occurred when tanks fired on a building in the Jabalia refugee camp while the soldiers were inside.

The soldiers were mistaken for armed Palestinians. Three other soldiers survived seriously injured.

Armored troops were "under heavy pressure"
The "Jerusalem Post" reported that the armored troops were under heavy pressure at the time because they had been shot at with dozens of anti-tank grenades in battles with extremist Palestinians. Therefore, all viewing slits and the upper hatch of the tanks were closed for protection.

Palestinians shot dead in the West Bank
Meanwhile, according to Palestinian reports, three Palestinian activists were shot dead by Israeli soldiers during violent clashes in the West Bank. Several people were also injured in the incident in the town of Tulkarm.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7 last year, 626 soldiers have been killed and around 3,500 others injured on the Israeli side, according to the army.

The war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by terrorists from Hamas and other groups in Israel on October 7.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians killed since October
According to the health authority controlled by the Islamist Hamas, more than 35,200 Palestinians have been killed so far in the ensuing war, although the figure, which is almost impossible to verify independently, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.