At least two Israeli reserve soldiers were killed in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Thursday following an accidental explosion involving one of their own military drones. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officially confirmed the fatalities in a statement issued on Friday.
Quoting Israeli military sources, French news agency AFP reported that the two reservists died inside a military outpost in northern Gaza. According to an IDF official, an Israeli drone crashed within the outpost but initially failed to detonate. When the soldiers approached the downed aircraft to inspect or clear it, the device unexpectedly exploded, inflicting fatal injuries.
The military identified the deceased soldiers as 24-year-old Master Sergeant (Res.) Nadav Kali and 23-year-old Master Sergeant (Res.) Ofek Moalem, both belonging to the 7007th Battalion of the IDF's 16th Brigade. Senior IDF officials confirmed that a comprehensive investigation is underway to examine the circumstances surrounding the malfunction and subsequent explosion, including potential communications interference. Since the outbreak of war following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks, Israeli military fatalities in the conflict have reached 970. Meanwhile, figures from the Gaza Health Ministry—recognized as reliable by the United Nations—indicate that nearly 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
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Reported by International Desk • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
