When caution isn’t enough
Two friendly fire incidents in past 24 hours require urgent preventative action
In the past 24 hours we apparently saw two operational mishaps that left our soldiers dead and wounded. One case, where three Golani soldiers were killed and more than 20 were wounded, was positively identified as a friendly fire incident resulting from a misfired tank shell. In the second case, which left a paratroop officer dead, the reasonable assumption is that this too was a friendly fire incident.
The circumstances of both incidents are still being investigated, yet the very fact they occurred at the same combat zone and within a short period of time require IDF commanders to adopt urgent preventative action.
The procedures of cooperation and coordination, as well as the safety distances between the various forces and the troops who cover them must be thoroughly reviewed – and if necessary, changed immediately.
This is not a simple matter, as we are dealing with combat within a residential area, where enemy fighters and our own troops move around and at times are located a few feet from each other. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that our forces, as well as the enemy, constantly change their positions. They appear and then disappear within minutes, and it is difficult to tell apart a camouflaged terrorist from one of our infantry soldiers, especially at night.
The fact that both mishaps were the result of tank fire apparently points to the fact that tank commanders still do not possess adequate observation means that would enable them to make proper identification (at high resolution) of the targets they are firing at. This is particularly true when visibility is poor and at night. This problem is well-known, by the way. It caused civilian casualties in previous combat situations, including in Gaza.
These facts are not new, and they highlight the extent to which the issue of friendly fire is a complex and difficult to resolve matter. Such tragic cases repeat in almost any war or operation carried out by any army since World War I.
While the Americans use the somewhat odd term “friendly fire,” in Israel we use a rather bizarre term as well: “Two-way fire.” The tendency to shy away from calling this “problem child” by its name attests to the difficult damage that such lethal combat mishaps cause to the morale of forces, as well as civilians at the home front.
What is even more frustrating is that despite all the methods designed to prevent such cases, and despite all the technology and creativity invested on this front by modern armies, including the IDF, these mishaps keep on happening.
