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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 the 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 7 October, as Israeli Doron Katz-Asher and other members of her family were being transported to Gaza on a tractor to be taken as hostages by Palestinian militants, the IDF fired on them to stop the tractor reaching Gaza; her mother Efrat Katz died from a bullet. Doron Katz-Asher was held hostage in Gaza for 49 days before being released during the ceasefire in late November. [4]
  • 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.[5]
  • On 15 December 2023, IDF soldiers shot dead 3 Israeli hostages who were waving a white-flag in Shuja'iyya, Gaza.[6]

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.[7] By 26 January the number of IDF troops killed in friendly fire incidents had been increased to 36 out of 188 soldiers reported as killed.[8] 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.[9] Of the deceased some were killed by Israeli airstrikes, shrapnel from their own explosives, being run over by Israeli armored vehicles, and mistakenly identified and hit with tank fire, shelling and/or guns. These numbers do not take into account injuries resulted from friendly fire, but the IDF has indicated that they have had reports of those.[8]

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.[10] Some experts such as retired US Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland highlighted the urban combat, lack of evacuation, and poor building quality due to the blockade which could cause higher numbers of friendly fire. While others such as Avner Gvaryahu of the IDF veterans organization against the occupation, Breaking the Silence stated its due to a policy of "very loose rules of engagement."[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.[11] The Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported on 16 December that IDF forces had fired on a tractor carrying hostages to Gaza.[4] 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."[12]

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.[13][14] IDF helicopters fired on cars trying to cross into Gaza.[15] It is unclear how many hostages were killed by friendly fire as a result of the order.[13][14] According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli soldiers inspected around 70 vehicles on the roads leading to Gaza that had been hit by a helicopter, tank or UAV, killing all occupants in at least some cases.[13][14]

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, making 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."[16][17]

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", Haaretz, retrieved 2024-01-06, [...] 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. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  3. ^ Frankel, Julia; Bernstein, Alon (2024-01-11). "Friendly fire may have killed their relatives on Oct. 7. These Israeli families want answers now". AP News. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  4. ^ a b Steinman, Tamir (2023-12-16). "י 49 ימים בגיהנום | דורון כץ-אשר, ששוחררה משבי חמאס עם שתי בנותיה, על רגעי האימה והניתוח שעברה ללא הרדמה" [49 days in hell – Doron Katz-Asher, who was released from captivity with her two daughters, about the moments of horror and the surgery she underwent without anesthesia]. N12. Retrieved 2024-01-27. ['At some point they actually put us on a tractor that took us from the field directly to Gaza. This is also where we were injured by the shooting.' At this point, the IDF force is shooting at them, to try to stop the tractor that is now speeding towards Gaza. 'In the middle of the ride on the tractor, there was a shooting, as a result of which my beloved mother was killed. I was injured in the back and my little Avi was injured in the leg.']
  5. ^ Jordan, Eliana. "IDF soldier who shot 'Hero of Jerusalem terror attack' arrested". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  6. ^ Boxerman, Aaron; Bergman, Ronen (2023-12-16). "Israel-Hamas War: Hostages Waved White Flag Before Being Shot By Israeli Troops". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  7. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (1 January 2024). "IDF: Deaths of 29 of 170 soldiers in Gaza op were so-called friendly fire, accidents". Times of Israel.
  8. ^ a b c Tanis, Fatma (January 26, 2024). "Friendly fire and accidents have killed a lot of Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Here's why". NPR. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Bob, Yonah Jeremy (2024-01-01). "IDF: 17% of soldiers killed by friendly fire in Gaza". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  10. ^ 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". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  11. ^ אייכנר, איתמר; צ'כנובר, יעל (2023-12-05). ""הפגיזו לידנו, בעלי הרביץ לעצמו": עדויות החטופות בפגישה עם הקבינט". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  12. ^ Zitun, Yoav (2023-12-12). "One-fifth of troop fatalities in Gaza due to friendly fire or accidents, IDF reports". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  13. ^ a b c Bergman, Ronen; Zitun, Yoav (2024-01-10). "ההוראה: למנוע ממחבלים לחזור לעזה 'בכל מחיר', גם אם יש איתם חטופים" [The instructions: prevent terrorists from returning to Gaza "at all costs" even if there are hostages with them]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  14. ^ a b c Bergman, Ronen; Zitun, Yoav (2024-01-12). "השעות הראשונות של השבת השחורה" [The first hours of Black Saturday]. Yedioth Ahronoth (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  15. ^ Fink, Rachel (2023-01-17). "'Unlawful, Unethical, Horrifying': IDF Ethics Code Author on Alleged Use of 'Hannibal Directive' During Hamas Attack". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  16. ^ "הסקרים לא מתפרסמים אבל הכיוון ברור - רוב בציבור אומר לנתניהו "לך"". Haaretz.co.il weekly podcast (in Hebrew). 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  17. ^ "Israeli colonel says Hannibal Directive was possibly deployed on 7 October". Middle East Eye (in Hebrew and English). 2023-11-21.
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