The investigation into the death of David Yitzchak: "They mistakenly identified him as a terrorist and shot him"

In the IDF, today (Tuesday), a summary of the investigation into the death of the soldier, Staff Sergeant David Yehuda Yitzchak, Z"L, during Operation Bayit VaGan in the Jenin refugee camp, was published. The investigation was presented earlier this week to the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, by the commander of the Central Command, the commander of Brigade 98, the commander of the Commando Brigade, and the commander of the Egoz Unit.

David, Z"L, fell during the course of an anti-terrorism operation in the Jenin refugee camp on the night of July 4, 2023, the 15th of Tammuz 5783. He was tragically shot and killed by our forces due to a mistaken identification. The shooting occurred as our forces were exiting the refugee camp and during an exchange of fire between the forces and armed individuals.

According to the investigation, a force that identified a suspicious figure and suspicious movements in one of the buildings fired towards it, and David Yehuda Yitzchak, Z"L, was tragically killed as a result of gunfire due to a mistaken identification. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) noted that the investigation's findings revealed discrepancies in the assessment of the forces' locations during the exit from the refugee camp.

Chief of Staff: "We will learn the necessary lessons"

After receiving the investigation's findings, the Chief of the General Staff stated: "This is a difficult and sorrowful incident in which we lost an IDF soldier during operational activity under fire. Unit Egoz, along with the commando units, operated courageously and admirably in the Jenin refugee camp, contributing to operational successes and expanding the IDF's operational freedom. Nevertheless, we will learn the necessary lessons and incorporate them into the IDF combat units."

In the IDF, they added and noted that the summary of the investigation findings was presented to the Yitzhak family, and they conveyed: "The IDF shares in the family's sorrow and will continue to accompany them. Following the incident, operational steps were decided upon at the division level. Across the various IDF platforms."