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Friendly fire during the Israel–Hamas war

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In specific cases there were incidents of friendly fire in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. The vast majority of casualties in the conflict were killed by the opposing side, i.e. Israelis killed by Palestinian militants and Palestinians killed by the Israeli military.

Confirmed incidents[]

  • In the Hamas led attack on 7 October, around 70 Hamas militants attacked the Be'eri kibbutz in southern Israel and at least 130 Israelis were killed in the attack. Several individuals were taken hostage in the kibbutz during the attack. Relatives of some of those killed have demanded a probe into potential deaths of some of these hostages from friendly fire, including one incident in which an Israeli tank fired at a house full of hostages.[1][2][3]
  • On 30 November 2023, In the Givat Shaul shooting in Jerusalem, 2 Palestinian gunmen killed three and wounded sixteen Israeli civilians. The gunmen were killed by Yuval Castleman, an Israeli bystander who shot the gunmen. He was fatally shot by an arriving IDF soldier shortly after.[4]
  • On 15 December 2023, IDF soldiers shot dead 3 Israeli hostages who were waving a white-flag in Shuja'iyya, Gaza.[5]

IDF running casualties[]

According to the Israeli military, since the ground invasion of Gaza beginning on October 29, an average of two to six soldiers were killed each week from friendly fire for a total of 18 soldiers out of 170 killed as of 1 January 2024.[6] They were a part of the about 17% of soldiers war-related deaths that were classified as accidents and were reportedly kept hidden from the genera Israeli population.[7]

Atlantic Council fellow and military intelligence expert Alex Plitsas cautioned that due to the fog of war, while any friendly fire instances is cause for concern, it was difficult to discern or reflect on if highlighted broader issues with the IDF and their tactics.[8]

Hannibal Directive and Yedioth Ahronoth investigation[]

On 5 December 2023, Israeli hostages released by Hamas met with Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet and claimed that, during the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel they were deliberately attacked by Israeli helicopters on their way into Gaza, and were shelled constantly by the Israeli military while they were there.[9] On 18 December the IDF admitted that "casualties fell as a result of friendly fire on October 7", but added that "beyond the operational investigations of the events, it would not be morally sound to investigate these incidents due to the immense and complex quantity of them that took place in the kibbutzim and southern Israeli communities due to the challenging situations the soldiers were in at the time."[10] In January 2024, an investigation by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth concluded that the IDF had in practice applied the Hannibal Directive from noon of October 7, ordering all combat units to stop "at all costs" any attempt by Hamas militants to return to Gaza with hostages.[11][12] IDF helicopters fired on cars trying to cross into Gaza.[13] It is unclear how many hostages were killed by friendly fire as a result of the order.[11][12] In an interview with Israel’s Haaretz, Lieut. Col. Nof Erez stated that IDF forces were mostly wiped out on the ground along the Gaza border. This reportedly meant that there was no one that helicopter or drone pilots could communicate with, causing the identification of persons on the ground very difficult. According to Erez, "the Hannibal [Protocol], for which we have been conducting drills over the past 20 years, relates to the case a single vehicle containing hostages: you know which part of the fence it comes through, what side of the road it would move to and even which road... What we saw here was a “mass Hannibal”. There were many openings in the fence. Thousands of people in many different vehicles, both with hostages and without hostages".[14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Liza Rozovsky (2024-01-06). "Families of Israelis Killed in Be'eri Home Hit by IDF Tank on October 7 Demand Probe". https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-06/ty-article/.premium/families-of-israelis-killed-in-beeri-home-hit-by-tank-fire-on-october-7-demand-probe/0000018c-de77-daf6-a5df-df7f22d60000. "[...] Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram said he had ordered a tank commander to fire on the home of Kibbutz Be'eri resident Pesi Cohen, in which Israeli civilians and many terrorists were holed up, ‘even at the cost of civilian casualties.’ [...] families of the killed Israelis demanded ‘a comprehensive and transparent probe into the decisions and actions that led to this tragic outcome. [...]’" 
  2. ↑ Staff (2024-01-06). "Families of 13 people killed in October 7 Kibbutz Be'eri firefight demand probe". The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/families-of-13-people-killed-in-october-7-kibbutz-beeri-firefight-demand-probe/. 
  3. ↑ Frankel, Julia; Bernstein, Alon (2024-01-11). "Friendly fire may have killed their relatives on Oct. 7. These Israeli families want answers now" (in en). https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-hostages-investigation-friendly-fire-3b6fdd4592957340b32a8ee71505b8e9. 
  4. ↑ Jordan, Eliana. "IDF soldier who shot 'Hero of Jerusalem terror attack' arrested" (in en). https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/idf-soldier-who-shot-hero-of-jerusalem-terror-attack-arrested-q5yp48lc. 
  5. ↑ Boxerman, Aaron; Bergman, Ronen (2023-12-16). "Israel-Hamas War: Hostages Waved White Flag Before Being Shot By Israeli Troops" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/12/16/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news. 
  6. ↑ Fabian, Emanuel (1 January 2024). "IDF: Deaths of 29 of 170 soldiers in Gaza op were so-called friendly fire, accidents". https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-deaths-of-29-of-170-soldiers-in-gaza-op-were-so-called-friendly-fire-accidents/. 
  7. ↑ Bob, Yonah Jeremy (2024-01-01). "IDF: 17% of soldiers killed by friendly fire in Gaza" (in en-US). https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-780266. 
  8. ↑ Da Silva, Chantal (2023-12-12). "Nearly one-fifth of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza died due to friendly fire and other accidents, IDF says" (in en). https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nearly-15-israeli-soldiers-killed-gaza-died-due-friendly-fire-accident-rcna129285. 
  9. ↑ אייכנר, איתמר; צ'כנובר, יעל (2023-12-05). ""הפגיזו לידנו, בעלי הרביץ לעצמו": עדויות החטופות בפגישה עם הקבינט" (in he). Ynet. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hkp00rchsp. 
  10. ↑ Zitun, Yoav (2023-12-12). "One-fifth of troop fatalities in Gaza due to friendly fire or accidents, IDF reports" (in en). Ynetnews. https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkjqoobip. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bergman, Ronen; Zitun, Yoav (2024-01-10). "ההוראה: למנוע ממחבלים לחזור לעזה 'בכל מחיר', גם אם יש איתם חטופים" (in he). Ynet. https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/yokra13754368. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bergman, Ronen; Zitun, Yoav (2024-01-12). "השעות הראשונות של השבת השחורה" (in he). Yedioth Ahronoth. https://w.ynet.co.il/yediot/7-days/time-of-darkness. 
  13. ↑ Fink, Rachel (2023-01-17). "'Unlawful, Unethical, Horrifying': IDF Ethics Code Author on Alleged Use of 'Hannibal Directive' During Hamas Attack" (in en). Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-17/ty-article/.premium/unlawful-unethical-horrifying-idf-ethics-expert-on-controversial-hannibal-directive/0000018d-186c-dd75-addd-faedd2b80000. 
  14. ↑ Zitun, Yoav; Ben Kimon, Elisha; Levy, Elior (3 January 2016). "Danger in Qalandiya: minute by minute" (in he). YNetNews. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4772717,00.html. 
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