Posted on 05/16/24
| News Source: JPost
Two IDF tanks killed five IDF soldiers and injured seven more in a friendly fire incident on Wednesday when they fired on a forward IDF battalion headquarters in Jabalya in northern Gaza. The IDF cleared for publication on Thursday.
The tanks were said to be under extreme pressure from dozens of rocket-propelled grenade attacks in the area.
All openings to the tanks, including the canopy on the top, were ordered to be kept closed to avoid any hole or vulnerability to the RPG attacks.
This, in turn, limited the tank's visibility.
Tank Unit 202 is a Haredi-integrated unit, and the soldiers said that they saw a potential threat emerge from the battalion headquarters, which was only 10-20 meters away from them.
It was unclear why they did not recognize the battalion headquarters. However, the IDF said that the tanks had taken over the junction in Jabalya around 9:00 am and that the Battalion headquarters deputy commander had only arrived many hours later.