Five soldiers were killed and seven others wounded, three critically, in a friendly fire incident during fighting in northern Gaza on Thursday, the IDF said in a statement.

The troops from the 202nd Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade were mistakenly struck by tank fire in the Jabaliya area, according to the statement.

Those killed were identified as Cpt. Roy Beit Yaakov, 22, from Eli; Staff Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim, 22, from Karnei Shomron; Sgt. Daniel Chemu, 20, from Tiberias; Sgt. Ilan Cohen, 20, from Karmiel; and Staff Sgt. Betzlel David Shashuah, 21, from Tel Aviv.

Cpt. Roy Beit Yaakov

Yaakov is the 21st fatality from the pre-military academy in Eli.

Head of the Binyamin Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council Yisrael Gantz said, "Immense pain for the family, for the community of Eli whose residents and graduates are at the spearhead of the battle, and for all of Benjamin. How much sorrow is involved in the resurrection of the people of Israel in its land. How many heroes do we have who risk their lives so that we can prevail and live here in the land of Israel in peace and security. Thanks to them we will prevail."

Yaakov's funeral will take place at 3:00 p.m. at the military cemetery on Mt. Herzl.

Staff Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim

Boim's teacher, Michael Ben Ari, eulogized, "My dear student Gilad, one of the best of the best. He was about to be discharged and start studying medicine. Wise, smiling, modest, a beloved friend. The pain is immense."

The funeral will take place at the military cemetery in Karnei Shomron at 3:00 p.m. He leaves behind his parents and four siblings. He was named after Gilad Zar, 41, of Itamar, who was shot dead in a terrorist ambush while driving in Judea and Samaria between Kedumim and Yizhar. The Fatah Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sgt. Daniel Chemu

Chemu, 20, grew up in Tiberias and for the past few years, lived in Netanya. He studied at Beit Yosef elementary school and later at the Migdal Or middle school in Migdal HaEmek. In high school, he attended the Branko Weiss school in Tiberias.

Sgt. Ilan Cohen

Cohen made aliyah to Israel from Argentina after finishing high school. Before enlisting in the IDF, he studied at various yeshivas, including Yeshivat Har Bracha in Judea and Samaria.

Mayor of Karmiel Moshe Koninski said, "Ilan was a lone soldier who came to the absorption center in Karmiel from Argentina and lived in the city for a certain period. Recently he lived in Jerusalem. On behalf of myself and the community of Karmiel residents and the staff of our absorption center, we wish to convey our condolences to the family. May his memory be blessed."

Staff Sgt. Betzlel David Shashuah

Shashuah's family has been informed of his death. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of first sergeant.

The friendly fire incident occurred as IDF troops maintained a position in a building in Jabaliya. A tank crew outside spotted a barrel protruding from a window. Despite being outside its designated firing zone, the tank opened fire, mistakenly striking the Israeli soldiers inside, according to the initial military probe.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet

This was 21 year old Staff Sgt. Betzlel David Shashuah of the Paratroopers Brigade's 202nd Battalion from Tel Aviv who was killed in action in Gaza.

May his memory be for a blessing pic.twitter.com/BKjiNRcvFp

— Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) May 16, 2024

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The friendly fire incident that resulted in the deaths of two Egoz Unit officers – Maj. Itamar Elharar, 26, and Maj. Ofek Aharon, 28 – on Thursday is one of the most difficult, and avoidable, the Israel Defense Forces has seen in recent years.

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That is also why it is so shocking: the tragedy could have been avoided and the fact that it was not necessitates a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the tragedy.

The preliminary investigation conducted immediately after the incident paints quite a clear picture of what caused the deaths. It began with a theft of some equipment from a military base, including night-vision goggles, and some commanders' decision to look for the thieves in the middle of the night.

The IDF could not adequately explain on Thursday why the search was conducted at such a late hour. Perhaps the commanders overstepped and thought that the thieves would return at night, giving the officers a chance to catch them.

The search was carried out by two contingents, one led by Elharar and Aharon, and the other by a young team commander in the unit. There was no coordination between the two groups, which is what led to the fatal encounter. Each suspected, mistakenly, that they were facing a threat, and opened fire.

It is unclear how commanders from such an elite unit, with such vast experience in operational activity and training, went out to comb the area in the middle of the night without the most basic coordination, as well as without helmets and communications devices.

All these matters will be at the core of the work of the commission of inquiry launched into the tragedy, headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibo. The commission must expand its scope beyond the preliminary investigation into the incident, for this is the only way the IDF can ensure that no stone was left unturned and to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future. As such, the probe must review operational procedures.

Who approved it, what exactly was approved, and who knew about it. There is no way that an activity that took place in such a dangerous area would be conducted by each force on its own.

The commission must also investigate whether any pressure was exerted to recover the stolen military equipment, over-motivating the officers, and if so, then by whom.

Lt. Col. A., the commander of Aharon and Elharar's Egoz Unit, made controversial remarks in the past when he criticized a soldier whose weapon was stolen during training. Back then, the IDF decided to turn a blind eye.

And the chain of responsibility cannot end with the unit. In the Duvdevan Unit, which like Egoz is part of the Commando Brigade, there have been several serious incidents in recent years, including the death of Staff Sgt. Shahar Strug, 20, who was killed in March 2018 when a firearm his roommate was playing with was accidentally discharged.

After Strug's death (and after the training exercise accident that left Corporal Eli Hayut from the Maglan Unit paralyzed in August 2018), a special committee was appointed to examine the normative conduct of elite units.

It found "discrepancies" in their routines and decided to establish a special school to train fighters from the Commando Brigade – the Maglan, Duvdevan, Egoz and Rimon units.

Now, they must examine whether the committee did indeed investigate the matter thoroughly and identified the discrepancies, and if whatever was properly identified was addressed and changed.

The military must not fear an exhaustive probe into the matter, even if it would lead to strict conclusions that would affect senior officers. At a time when the public is losing confidence int he IDF, the military has no choice but to act, and do so with full transparency.

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Two Commando Brigade officers were killed on Wednesday night in a friendly fire accident following security-related operations near a base in the Jordan Valley, the military confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi was en route to the scene, where he will personally oversee the investigation, the military said.

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The two officers were later identified as Maj. Itamar Elharar, 26, and Maj. Ofek Aharon, 28. According to available details, they were killed as a result of a two-way shooting prompted by misidentification. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the families of the two officers have been notified.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav told Army Radio that the military will task a senior officer to head the inquest into the grave event, regardless of the investigation launched by the Military Police, which investigates any death in military ranks.

"This is a tragic event," he said. "The two commanders, the best among our sons – this is a painful loss.  ... Every few years an incident of this nature takes place. When we're dealing with an elite unit and such young soldiers the pain is worse."

Commenting on the tragedy on Twitter, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote, "This is a very sad morning. I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the two officers who were killed overnight in a tragic accident.

"The two commanders had dedicated their best years to the security of Israel and defending our homeland. The entire people of Israel mourns for them. The IDF is investigating the difficult incident and the necessary lessons will be learned. May their memories be blessed."

Prime Minister-designate Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted, "This is a difficult, painful morning. My heart breaks for the two Egoz combat officers who were killed in a friendly fire incident. I send condolences to their family, friends, and their unit. Stay strong. The IDF is investigating this sad incident. May their memories be blessed."

Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted, "I am deeply saddened by the death of two Egoz officers in the Jordan Valley this morning. Unfortunately, nothing can console their families, friends, and comrades. The military is sparing no effort to investigate this incident and we will do everything within our power to make sure such a tragedy does not happen again. May their memories be blessed."

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In a visit to the Menashe Brigade on Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi discussed an operation carried out the previous night against Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank and called it an "important achievement."

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Saturday night's action entailed five coordinated arrest raids by the IDF, Israel Police special forces, and the Shin Bet security agency in various locations in northern Samaria. During the ensuing clashes, at least five terrorist fugitives were killed and a number of others wounded. IDF forces also confiscated weapons and ammunition. One extended exchange of fire in the village of Bourkin resulted in two IDF soldiers being seriously wounded, possibly in a friendly fire incident.

"It was a night of thwarting important targets, which stopped the development of major terrorist attacks. These were attacks that could have been executed in Jerusalem, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Afula, or any other place," Kochavi said.

"It's important for us to remember and remind everyone that these preventative actions take place dozens of times a week, which creates security for Israel throughout Judea and Samaria, not just here," he added.

During the operation overnight Saturday, two IDF soldiers were seriously wounded. Kochavi said, "We must probe and study all operational actions, but one thing is clear – [the personnel] here strive to fulfill the mission, and it resulted in a strike that comprised an extremely serious blow to the network that had been operation throughout the Menashe and Binyamin regions."

"The soldiers carried out the operation professionally, with great courage. I send the wounded troops my wishes for a speedy recovery. We will continue to operate in every region, all the time, to guarantee that the citizens of Israel are defended," Kochavi said.

Also on Sunday, commander of the Judea Samaria Division Brig. Gen. Yaniv Alaluf visited the two wounded soldiers in the hospital and told their families: "Your sons are fighters, brave heroes. Their daring actions in the clashes overnight prevented Israeli citizens from being killed and wounded."

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Friendly fire incidents, tragic yet common in war, have claimed the lives of hundreds of soldiers in Israel's military campaigns. One of the worst such cases of friendly fire occurred during the First Lebanon War, when five Armored Corps soldiers lost their lives.

In every army in the world, friendly fire is considered an embarrassment that is often either ignored or hidden from the public as much as possible. In the IDF, despite its history with such incidents, the scope of the effort to examine and mitigate them has been lacking over the years.

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As part of a hackathon competition hosted last week by the Jerusalem College of Technology (Lev Academic Center), a group of students came together to try finding a solution to the problem of friendly fire disasters. The hackathon, or technology competition, was in its fifth year running.

For 48 hours, the students contended with numerous complex challenges posed by the largest companies and organizations in the country, among them: Amazon (Amazon Web Services), Intel, ExLibris, the Zomet Institute, Ezer Mitzion and Elbit Systems.

The team comprised combat soldiers and high-tech professionals in reserve military duty, along with third-year students in the fields of electronics, optics, and industrial engineering and management.

One of the team members, Benaya Zuckerman, is a third-year industrial engineering student who personally experienced a terrible friendly fire incident during his military service.

"My friend's squad opened fire at our squad during a complicated operation in northern Gaza and one of our soldiers was shot and killed. Beyond the heavy cost of life that we pay for these incidents, the soldiers who do the shooting and the families of the casualties have to cope with post-trauma and other emotional distress," Zuckerman told Israel Hayom.

To meet the challenge before them, the team members built a system capable of distinguishing between friend and foe and telling the soldier in real-time whether he is aiming at an enemy or not.

Boaz Lifschitz from Elbit Systems, who mentored the team during the competition, said: "I was very interesting to see how the team members coped with the challenge. They displayed creativity and deep thinking. Such people are needed in Israel and these solutions have a tremendous impact on the national level. I hope the solution goes far and solves one of the central problems facing the security establishment."

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