The IDF said Wednesday that a soldier was killed overnight in a friendly fire incident in the southern Gaza Strip after being mistakenly identified as a threat during operations near Khan Younis.
The soldier was identified as Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, 21, from the northern community of Hayogev. He served in the Paratroopers Brigade.
A preliminary investigation found that Yafe was hit by small-arms fire from Israeli troops conducting engineering operations to demolish structures during nighttime activity in eastern Khan Younis, in an area of buffer zone outposts near the border. Paratrooper forces had arrived in the sector about a week earlier.
Yafe is the fifth Israeli service member killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025. The others were Maj. Yaniv Kula, 2nd Lt. Itai Yavetz, Master Sgt. (res.) Efi (Yona Ephraim) Feldbaum and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad.
Since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, 925 Israeli soldiers have been killed, according to military figures. Overall, 2,013 people have been killed since the start of the war, the military said.