IDF tank accidentally fires into Gaza Strip, army investigating

No injuries reported as tank shell hit an abandoned structure.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

An IDF tank crew accidentally fired a round into the Gaza Strip during a training exercise Monday, Kan News reported.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said an investigation is being carried out to find out why the crew opened fire during an exercise in operational deployment when the 74th Armored Battalion left the sector along the Gaza border and was replaced by the 75th Armored Battalion.

The tank fire hit an abandoned structure, and there were no reports of any casualties.

In a similar incident last month on the Gaza border, a tank opened fire against orders on an abandoned Hamas position. The investigation revealed that the shooting was carried out as a result of a communications misunderstanding between the commanders over the radio network. At the time the IDF said they were taking that incident seriously.

In a separate incident last month, an IDF tank overturned while being loaded onto a tank transporter, nearly crushing several soldiers and injuring the tank driver lightly. Video evidence at the time appeared to corroborate the driver’s claim that the gas pedal got stuck as the tank was mounting the transporter. Following standard procedure, the tank driver was the only soldier aboard at the time.

The IDF routinely uses tank fire to retaliate after Hamas terrorists in Gaza fire rockets at Israeli targets. In the most recent incident, IDF tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets struck multiple Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on November 15 after two rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israeli communities.

The two rockets launched from Gaza triggered sirens in the city of Ashdod and Kibbutz Palmachim as well as in the Gush Dan region south of Tel Aviv, sending tens of thousands of Israelis racing for bomb shelters.

Both rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome Defense System and no physical injuries were reported, although Magen David Adom treated three people for shock in the cities of Ashdod, Holon, and Bat Yam.