Injured soldiers evacuated to hospital
Photo: Herzl Yosef
Major-General Tal Russo
Photo: Raanan Ben Tzur
IDF halts operation of Keshet system
Initial IDF probe into Friday incident at Gaza border that killed one soldier, injured five, reveals one of three mortar shells launched by IDF missed target, hit paratroopers. IDF halts operation of mortar deployment system until investigation completed
System malfunction or human error? An IDF paratrooper unit launched three mortar shells at terrorists near the Gaza Strip border on Friday evening. The two first shells hit the target, while the third one probably missed, instead injuring five soldiers and killing Sergeant Nadav Rotenberg.
Following the incident, the IDF halted operations on the Keshet mortar system. At least two other incidents were reported during the past two years, in which soldiers and civilians were injured from improper use of the system.
Soldier Killed
Hanan Greenberg
Sergeant Natav Rotenberg, 20, killed during exchanges of fire with terrorists approaching security fence; another soldier moderately wounded, three more lightly hurt when mortar fired by IDF force accidentally hits them
On Friday evening, approximately at 6:45 pm, three suspicious figures were spotted approaching the security fence. A paratrooper force was deployed to the area, while another unit was stationed further away and received coordinates for the location of the terrorist cell.
The unit launched mortar shells using the Keshet weapons system – a computerized system with the ability to aim precisely and fire 120mm mortar shells at targets using coordinates.
Most IDF infantry brigades have been using the system since 2008, and it is considered a useful technological tool for battlefield operations.
An initial investigation indicated that the two first shells exploded near the terrorist cell, which later escaped the scene and could have been injured, while the third shell missed the target by a few dozen to a few hundred meters, hitting instead Sergeant Nadav Rotenberg and his fellow unit members.
The IDF continued to fire mortar shells deeper into the Strip, and for several hours the circumstances of the incident remained unclear. Finally, the shrapnel that penetrated the soldiers' bodies was identified as originating from the Israeli shell.
It is still unclear what caused the shell to deviate from its course, and whether it was a result of improper operation or a system malfunction.
In an unusual step, Southern Command chief Major-General Tal Russo ordered to halt operations on the Keshet mortar system until an investigation is concluded and the circumstances of the incident are made clear.
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