At least five Israeli soldiers died and three others were seriously injured in an apparent friendly fire in northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Thursday.
The details of the incident came to light after an information embargo was lifted earlier the same day.
According to Israeli media reports, the soldiers were killed by friendly fire from Israeli tanks during battles against militants Wednesday.
The tanks reportedly fired on a building in the refugee camp of Jabalia where the soldiers were staying. Those operating the tanks had mistaken the soldiers for armed Palestinians, it said.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the armored vehicles had been under heavy pressure at the time because they had been shot at with dozens of anti-tank grenades in battles with Palestinian resistance groups. As a result, all the viewing slits and the top hatch of the tanks were said to have been closed for protection.
According to the army, Wednesday’s incident brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of its Gaza war on Oct. to 7 to 626. Around 3,500 others have been injured.
Israel launched a brutal offensive in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which killed about 1,200 people.
More than 35,200 Palestinians have since been killed, most of them women and children, while over 79,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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