A month into the ground maneuver the data on the number of casualties among the soldiers since the ground operation in Gaza began are being revealed. Since the beginning of the entry of the forces into Gaza, about 105 soldiers have fallen, with 20 of them killed in operational accidents. It was also reported that 13 soldiers were killed as a result of friendly fire shooting, one soldier from a stray bullet and another 6 from accidents, bullet discharge, or shrapnel.
2 soldiers fell as a result of accidents and being run over by Armoured fighting vehicles - tanks and Armoured personnel carriers. 2 more were killed as a result of machine gun bullets (Negev/Mag) and 2 more were killed as a result of IDF shrapnel.
Officials in the IDF commented on the data. They noted that the extent of the injuries stemmed from several reasons, including the number of fighters in the Strip, the continuation of the fighting, exhaustion, lack of operational discipline, and lack of coordination between forces, etc. According to the army, those accidents, including 'friendly fire', should have been avoided.
