published
There has been a fatal accident within the Israeli armed forces in the West Bank. Their colleague thought they were terrorists and therefore fired.
The two members of the task force had fired in the air during a patrol after pursuing two suspects. (Symbol image)
imago images / ZUMA Wire
One of their colleagues mistakenly assumed an attack and then opened fire. (Symbol image)
REUTERS
Two soldiers have died in Israel after a member of their own unit mistakenly shot them.
The incident happened while on patrol in the West Bank.
After their colleagues fired a shot, the rest of the patrol thought it was an attack.
Two Israeli officers died on Thursday night as a result of mistaken fire from their own unit. The deadly incident happened near an Israeli military base in the Jordan Valley, the Israeli army said on Twitter. The Jordan Valley is part of the West Bank occupied by Israel in 1967. The two soldiers were killed by friendly fire after a misunderstanding.
Already several deaths in accidents since the beginning of the year
The Israeli news site ynet reported that it was two commando officers of the special unit “Egoz”. On Wednesday evening, while patrolling a firing range, they identified a suspect and shot him in the air as part of an arrest attempt. Another soldier of the unit misinterpreted this as “shots by terrorists” and opened fire. The seriously injured officers were taken to a hospital by helicopter. Only her death could be determined there.
Earlier this year, two Israeli officers died and another was injured when a military helicopter crashed.
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(DPA/pme)