Israeli Military Reveals 20 Soldiers Killed in Gaza Due to Friendly Fire

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has disclosed that 20 out of 105 soldiers killed in ground operations in the Gaza Strip, were due to so-called friendly fire incidents and various other mishaps.

Data disclosed by the IDF to Jewish media outlets today, said that the deaths of these 20 Jewish soldiers resulted from errors in tank fire, friendly fire from air raids, gunfire by fellow soldiers and other military assets.

“Thirteen of the IDF members killed due to friendly fire resulted from mistaken identities during air raids, tank fire, and gunfire. Three soldiers were killed due to shots unintended targeted at them. Two others were killed when they were struck by their own armoured vehicles, while two more succumbed to bomb shrapnels detonated by their comrades,” stated the IDF.

The Israeli military attributes several factors as causes for these “accidents” leading to the deaths of their personnel.

These include a high number of IDF members operating in Gaza, communication issues among military units in the Palestinian territories, fatigue among soldiers, and non-compliance with military regulations.

The IDF has revealed that thousands of its personnel, along with hundreds of main battle tanks, armoured vehicles and other assets, are currently operating in ground operations in the Gaza Strip. Despite the IDF stating that 105 of its personnel have been killed in the Gaza ground operations so far, or over 400 Israeli soldiers in total since October 7, this has been disputed by military observers.

Military observers argue that the Israeli authorities are concealing the true number of their soldiers’ deaths to maintain morale among their troops and the general public.

A few days ago, Israel’s largest Hebrew-language newspaper, “Yediot Ahronoth,” reported that 5,000 IDF members were confirmed to have suffered injuries, with 2,000 officially recognized by the country’s Ministry of Defense as permanently disabled since the conflict erupted in the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The Israeli newspaper stated that 58 percent of the injured soldiers suffered severe injuries to their hands and legs, leading to amputations.

 It emphasized that such experiences for the Israeli military were unprecedented.

 “Over 5,000 injured soldiers have been received by hospitals in Israel. More than 2,000 of them have been officially recognized by the Ministry of Defense as disabled,” according to the newspaper.

Deputy Director and Head of the Rehabilitation Department at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Limor Luria, informed that they had never faced such a situation before.

“We have never experienced anything like this. Over 58 percent of the injured have severe injuries to their hands and legs, including forced amputations. More than 12 percent of the injuries involve internal organs such as the spleen, kidneys, and injuries to other organs,” she said.

She also mentioned that over 7 percent of the injured soldiers also face psychological issues, with an expected sudden increase in this number in the future.

Meanwhile, in an interview last month, the Director of the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, David Oren Baruch, revealed that an Israeli soldier is buried in the cemetery every hour and a half.

Speaking in an interview on November 19, he said, “We are facing a phase where burials take place every hour and a half, and after that, there is another burial ceremony.”

“In Mount Herzl Military Cemetery alone, we bury 50 soldiers within a 48-hour period,” he added. — DSA

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