Israeli Tank Friendly Fire Kills Five Troops in Gaza

The Israeli military said Thursday that five of its soldiers were killed when an Israeli tank fired at a building in Gaza that was being used by its own troops, raising the war’s toll on Israel amid pressure from hostage families and allies to end the fighting.

Seven other soldiers were injured in the incident, which took place in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday evening, the military said. An Israeli tank fired two shells at the building after mistaking a group of Israeli paratroopers located inside for militants. Three of the wounded soldiers sustained serious injuries, said the military, adding that it is investigating the incident.

So-called friendly fire has been a common cause of death for Israeli soldiers throughout Israel’s seven-month-old war in Gaza, where fighting has been complicated by the enclave’s dense urban environment. Before Wednesday’s incident in Jabalia, at least 44 of the 273 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza died as the result of “operational accidents,” according to data from the Israeli military.