Some Israeli soldiers were killed in friendly fire on Oct. 7: Report

JERUSALEM

Israeli media on Wednesday said investigations revealed that some Israeli soldiers were killed in friendly fire in the areas around the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 during the Palestinian Hamas group's surprise attack.

According to the Haaretz daily, the Israeli army fought against hundreds of Hamas members on Oct. 7 during which a "limited number" of Israeli forces were identified mistakenly as hostile members.

Haaretz, however, didn't give a specific number of those killed by Israeli friendly fire but said these incidents were limited in comparison to the number of Israeli troops killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

The Israeli army has so far avoided reviewing the incident of Oct. 7 due to the unusual circumstances under which the army operated against the Hamas members on that day.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​