CLEARED FOR RELEASE – 3:25AM IL: UPDATES BELOW Three IDF soldiers were R”L killed in Gaza on Monday by a tank shell mistakenly directed at a building in which soldiers were staying. The tank fire caused the building to collapse. The dead include two officers, a physician and a company commander as well as a soldier.
According to reports the incident occurred at dozens of soldiers entered an abandoned building in Jabalya Refugee Camp to get out of the heavy gunfire. The preliminary investigation reveals the tank fire caused a secondary blast of he explosives carried by the force, causing a partial collapse of the structure.
The wounded, numbering about 30 include nine in serious condition. They were flown to Soroka Hospital in Beersheva, Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, and Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv. Some of the wounded are reported to be in serious condition.
UPDATE 4:00AM IL: Among the wounded in the tragic mistaken fire incident in Gaza is Golani commander Colonel Avi Peled, who sustained light injuries. Peled was in charge of the evacuation of the wounded. Peled refused to be evacuated to a hospital until his wounded soldiers were out of the area.
It appears soldiers were engaged in a major firefight with terrorists in the Sajayieh area of eastern Gaza City. They were attacked with mortars and heavy fire, prompting them to take cover in the building, which later collapsed partially due to the mistaken fire and secondary explosion.
An additional 12 soldiers were wounded in the Gaza fighting on Monday as well.
UPDATE 4:15AM IL: One soldier is listed in critical condition, 3 serious and 20 others are light and moderate from the mistaken fire incident. Along with Colonel Peled, 14 other soldiers were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva with 11 listed as “light-to-moderate” and one “moderate-to-serious”. Three soldiers were evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, listed in serious, moderate and light condition. Seven others were evacuated to Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv. (Numbers do not add up but this is the information released by the IDF spokesman).
Among the injured is Dor Fogel, the son of Brig.-Gen. (reserves) Tzvika Fogel, a former commander of the Southern Command. Fogel explained that he was activated about a week ago and is serving the commander in the heart of the operation. “I was the one directing the artillery fire to accommodate choppers evacuating the wounded; unaware my son is among them. To my joy, he is among the lightly wounded with a dislocated shoulder. He is expected to be released from the hospital in the coming day” the senior officer explained.
UPDATE 4:30AM IL: An additional 14 soldiers were wounded in Monday’s fighting in Gaza, IDF officials confirm. This is NOT related to the above mistaken fire incident. Eight of them were wounded during the afternoon hours, seven of them paratroopers, in exchanges of gunfire with terrorists in different area of northern Gaza. Two are listed in moderate condition and the remainder light. Injuries include sniper fire and mortar shell fragments. The soldiers were evacuated to Soroka Hospital and Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
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(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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14 Responses
Boruch Dayen HuEmes…
Bashert is Bashrt.
Lets daven for a refuah shlaima for the others injured, they should have a refuah shlaima.
BARUCH DAYAN HAEMES
So sad! Let’s unite! Our Achdus will bring about the yeshua! May we all be zoiche to the ultimate yeshua, Hashta ubizman kariv!
#1 bashert is bashert
What a unfeeling and sick comment you should be embarassed calling yourself
A poshiter yid
3. Boruch Dayan ho’emes … Only Hashem can comfort the families of these tragic korbonos
How poignant a lesson we can learn from the fact that, as they saw the situation, the deceased and wounded thought they were taking shelter from danger, when just the opposite was the case.
To their thinking, the munitions they were bore with them would help to overcome the enemy, but, Rachmono litzlon, in the end, their explosives killed and wounded themselves and fellow Jews.
“Im Hashem lo yishmor ir, shov shokad shomeir….
If HASHEM does not protect a city, in vain does the watchman diligently stand guard …” (Tehillim 127)
We can succeed in this war (and in all we do) only if Hashem is with us. The faster we be come fully aware of our dependency on His support, the sooner we will be deemed worthy of His ongoing protection.
May we learn a lesson from this tragedy, and may our spiritual growth be a zechus for them and for us.
May Hashem comfort the bereaved and speedily heal the wounded.
Bashert is Bashrt.
Even a poshiter yid shouldn’t say so.
Well we are the 2000 generetion where yiddish blood is hefker R”L,
Bashert is Bashrt AND… NEXT CASE.
#4 and #6, You are both right, I did not explain my feelings well.
One of the Soliders killed R”L is Yosef Moadi A”H from Chifa.
Yosef Moadi A”H was 19 years-old, so tragic, so young.
so sad and tragic. boruch dayan emes.
#5 After this tragic event why do you have to be mezalzel the soldiers. these guys died a kiddush hashem by giving their lives to protect their fellow jews.
Do you really know what they thought ?
We need tefillot and cahdut at this stage nit snide comments.
BTW a very large percentage of the soldiers drfated are Yeisha guys from Hesder Yeshivot who have incredible yirat shamayim
his name was Yousef Moadi and was a bedouin from a druze village still very sad
Poshiter Yid,
I understood your comment to say that we shouldn`t start making cheshbonos on friendly fire and military mistakes, rather we should call out Baruch Dayan HaEmes in sorrow and daven for the wounded wthout judgements and questions….
In response to #11, kizmo: Thank you for pointing out that I did not express the idea clearly. No criticism was intended; as you so correctly wrote, these are Kedoshim who died because they are Jews, and who went to battle to defend fellow Yidden, even at the risk of their very lives. Nothing we can say will diminish their sacrifice and their madreigah.
Perhaps I should have worded the comment differently, saying that WE — or any rational observer — would have thought that taking shelter in an empty building would be a wise, productive step to take. And certainly, al pi hahegayon, taking munitions with them was the order of the day, and to our human minds, it promised to be a means to gain their goal for the benefit of Israel.
The point I tried to make, but apparently did not succeed, was that everything requires siyata deshemaya. Even if plans, strategies, arsenals, and all the rest that goes into so complex an undertaking as this war SEEMS to our minds to be the best, strongest, and most sophisticated, if Hashem so wishes, it will all come to nothing, or, as in this case, even worse, be turned against us.
My apologies if my comment can be construed as criticism of the fallen soldiers or their companions. This was certainly not my intention. Thank you for pointing out the ambiguity.