Five Israeli troops were killed in the Gaza War "by tank fire" near Jabalia

Five Israeli troops were killed in the Gaza War "by tank fire" near Jabalia

According to the IDF, five Israeli troops have died in Gaza in one of the bloodiest events of this kind since the conflict started in October.

According to Israeli media, the soldiers were accidentally struck by Israeli tank fire on Wednesday, resulting in their deaths.

It took place in Jabalia, in the northern part of Gaza, where Hamas rebels are fighting Israeli troops.

This week, after earlier leaving the town, troops returned, claiming Hamas had relocated there.

Over ten thousand people have left Jabalia since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began its airstrike campaign on Saturday. On Monday, the troops returned to Jabalia.

In recent days, there has been more fighting there and in the southern town of Rafah, where roughly half of Gaza's 2.3 million civilian population sought refuge.

According to the UN, around 600,000 Palestinians have since left Rafah, while an additional 100,000 have been forcibly evacuated due to renewed violence in the north.

All five of the Israeli soldiers who were murdered in Jabalia on Wednesday were members of the Paratroopers Brigade's 202nd Battalion.

According to Israeli media, the IDF was looking into why they were struck by tank fire.

Nevertheless, preliminary investigation revealed that the forces had taken over a structure in the Jabalia refugee camp, located several hundred meters away from Israeli tanks that were also positioned nearby.

The inquiry discovered that the tanks fired two rounds targeting a weapon they detected inside the structure.

The tank fire also wounded seven additional troops, three of them seriously.