In a rare mishap, an Israeli Air Force helicopter inadvertently struck a house in the Gaza Strip that was occupied by soldiers, resulting in the death of one. Respecting the wishes of the deceased soldier's family, who have already buried their loved one, his identity remains undisclosed.
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The incident unfolded when ground troops called for air support from Apache helicopter pilots against nearby identified terrorists. The pilots, responding to the call, mistakenly targeted the building housing the soldiers, likely due to misdirected ground fire. The Air Force promptly initiated an investigation into the incident. While there have been similar friendly fire incidents since the war began, this is the first to result in a fatality.
The army reported that during the war, there was an unprecedented level of cooperation and air support for ground forces. Over 10,000 close-support strikes have been conducted since the start of the ground operations, following requests from battalion and brigade commanders. Despite the significant risks involved in these strikes, the majority were completed without incident.
Acknowledging the sensitivity toward bereaved families and the continuing combat, the military is minimizing the emphasis on casualties caused by friendly fire. Nevertheless, during the cease-fire, the military conducted multiple preliminary investigations into these incidents, subsequently holding debriefings and sharing lessons learned with numerous commanders involved in the operations.
To date, friendly fire and operational accidents during ground operations have resulted in injuries or fatalities for dozens of soldiers. The army has acknowledged that these incidents were partly due to flawed operational practices, which have been rectified during the cease-fire.
To prevent similar occurrences, the army has introduced various technological solutions, such as drones dedicated to marking troop positions and differentiating boundaries among the thousands of soldiers engaged in one of the world's most densely populated combat zones.
The IDF said in response to a Ynet inquiry that "The incident is being investigated, and the information will be presented to the families and then to the public. The IDF shares the grief of the bereaved family and accompanies them and the wounded."