IDF officer accidentally shot during training exercise
Officer who was playing enemy soldier during drill near Hawara checkpoint sustains moderate wounds after soldier manning guard post opens fire at him; IDF investigating
An IDF officer was moderately injured Thursday after being accidentally shot by a soldier during a training exercise near the Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus. The officer, who suffered an abdominal injury, is conscious and breathing. He was rushed to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
It appears the officer, who was in charge of safety, was shot by a soldier who was manning a guard post at the time. The soldier, who did not take part in the drill, apparently mistook the victim for a terrorist. As part of the exercise, the officer pretended to be an enemy soldier.
The exercise was stopped and the Central Command chief ordered an investigation into the incident.
"There was a lot of confusion, and the fact that the exercise was stopped prevented and even greater tragedy," one of the soldiers said.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit referred to the shooting as friendly fire incident. "The drill was stopped and the Central Command chief ordered an immediate investigation into the circumstances that led to the officer's injury," it said.
Last month, an IDF soldier collapsed and died, during military screening tests in a southern base.
An initial medical examination into Yehoshua Hafetz's death revealed that the cause of death was a heart defect.
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