Two Israeli reservists were killed Thursday when an IDF drone malfunctioned, crashed inside a military post in the northern Gaza Strip and exploded as troops approached it, the military said Friday.
The IDF identified the soldiers as Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, of Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, of Jerusalem. According to IDF figures, 970 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began.
Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem
(Photo: IDF)
The two soldiers were stationed at a military post near Beit Hanoun and were operating two drones at the time of the incident. The first was launched successfully and reached its intended destination.
During the second operation, another drone was launched but crashed inside the post. The soldiers approached the downed aircraft and, for reasons that remain unclear, it exploded.
Both soldiers received medical treatment at the scene before being evacuated by helicopter in critical condition to a hospital in Israel, where they were pronounced dead.
The military has opened an investigation into the incident and said all possibilities were being examined, including whether communications interference may have contributed to the malfunction.
Pending the findings of the investigation, the IDF has suspended use of the drone model involved in the explosion.
The deaths were the latest fatalities involving Israeli personnel operating in Gaza. In June, Raad Abu al-Qi'an, a resident of the Bedouin town of Hura who worked in Gaza as a civilian contractor for the Defense Ministry, was killed when a building collapsed in Jabaliya.
Civilian contractors working on behalf of the military are not recognized as fallen IDF soldiers. After their deaths, they receive the more limited designation of victims of hostile acts rather than recognition as fallen members of the IDF and security forces.
Before Thursday's incident, the most recent IDF fatality in Gaza was Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, a Paratroopers Brigade soldier from Moshav Hayogev in the Jezreel Valley, who was killed by friendly fire in Khan Younis on Feb. 18.