Of 170 Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s ground offensive against Hamas, which began in late October, 29 were killed by so-called friendly fire and other accidents, according to data released by the IDF on Monday.
The data did not cover soldiers who were wounded by friendly fire and in accidents, and does not include two soldiers killed on December 30 and 31.
Eighteen of the 170 soldiers were killed by friendly fire due to mistaken identification, including in airstrikes, tank shelling, and gunfire.
Two soldiers were killed by gunfire that was not intended to hit them.
Nine soldiers were killed in accidents, including accidental weapon discharges, being run over by armored vehicles, and being hit by shrapnel from controlled demolitions.
Since the beginning of the ground operation, between two and six soldiers have been killed per week in incidents of friendly fire or accidents, according to the data.
The IDF has assessed that myriad reasons have led to the deadly accidents, including the large number of forces operating in Gaza, communication issues between forces, and soldiers being exhausted and not paying attention to regulations.
There are currently tens of thousands of infantry forces, tanks, and other troops in Gaza taking part in Israel’s ground offensive against Hamas, operating in the Strip’s dense neighborhoods.
The military has said it is constantly assessing the ongoing fighting, including the cases of friendly fire, and quickly implementing lessons learned.
Still, the IDF has repeatedly praised cooperation between different branches of the military, especially aircraft providing air support to troops on the ground.
The IDF has announced the deaths of 172 soldiers who have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground incursion on October 27.
Another 937 soldiers have been wounded in the ground operation — 211 seriously wounded, 347 moderately, and 379 lightly, according to IDF data from Sunday.
The ground operation followed three weeks of aerial bombardments in the wake of the Hamas-led massacres on October 7, when Palestinian terrorists stormed the border into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and kidnapped at least 240.
Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching an offensive aimed at toppling the Gaza-ruling terror group and securing the release of the hostages. The ground operation initially concentrated on northern Gaza but has since expanded to the Strip’s south.
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 23 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Another three people are listed as missing since October 7, and their fates are still unknown.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has claimed that since the start of the war, more than 21,000 people have been killed, mostly civilians. However, these figures cannot be independently verified and are believed to include some 8,500 Hamas fighters, as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets. Another estimated 1,000 terrorists were killed in Israel during the October 7 onslaught.