The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) said that five soldiers were killed and seven others were injured in what it said was “friendly fire” in Jabalia, north Gaza.

Three of the seven injured soldiers are suffering from “serious injuries”, the statement added.

An initial probe by the IOF said that a tank fired two two shells at a building where the soldiers were in; after the tank operators saw a gun barrel out of a window in the building and mistook it for Palestinian resistance fighters.

Also Read: Palestinian Resistance pounds Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza

The five soldiers are identified as:

Cpt. Roy Beit Yaakov, 22; Staff Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim, 22; Sgt. Daniel Chemu, 20; Sgt. Ilan Cohen, 20; Staff Sgt. Betzalel David Shashuah, 21.

This raises the death toll of IOF soldiers since the ground invasion of the Strip on Oct. 27, 2023 to 278 soldiers, with 49 of those killed in friendly fire and other incidents – according to the IOF.

Another 1,712 soldiers were wounded in the ground invasion; 338 of those were seriously wounded, 566 moderately, and 808 with light injuries.