The IDF general staff speaks of “crossfire”.
Five Israeli soldiers were killed by IDF tank fire in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said Thursday.
“Crossfire from tanks of the 202nd Battalion caused the death of five soldiers and injured others,” the army said.
The injured soldiers were evacuated for treatment and the families were informed, she added.
The five soldiers who died were four paratrooper conscripts and a captain of their unit, the IDF previously said in a statement.
The Israeli army is once again carrying out ground operations in the north of the Gaza Strip more than five months after announcing that it had dismantled Hamas military structures there.
Israeli tanks entered the narrow streets of central Jabalia, a once-densely populated neighborhood northeast of Gaza City, where they encountered heavy resistance.
Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah, and UNRWA, the main UN aid agency in Gaza, estimates that some 450,000 people have left the city since May 6.