Two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza on Thursday by a drone they were operating, Israel’s military has announced.
Nadav Kali, 24, and Ofek Moalem, 23, were reservists stationed in the north of the strip. They were operating a first-person-view drone that crashed inside their military post. It then exploded after the pair went to investigate, according to an initial army investigation.
As a result of the deaths, Israel’s military is reportedly temporarily grounding its small drones that carry explosives. It has ordered an investigation, led by a brigadier general, into the incident.
Israel has lost 479 troops due to military operations in the strip since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023. More than 73,400 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 1,330 since a supposed ceasefire was struck between Israel and Hamas in October last year.
Despite the agreement, Israel has launched frequent strikes in the strip and continues to occupy the majority of it, in what it describes as a military buffer zone.
Israeli journalist Amir Tibon criticised the military after the deaths were announced on Friday. He highlighted an incident two months ago when a worker from a nearby kibbutz found a crashed military drone, similar to the one that exploded on Thursday, in a field.
“Southern Command issued a statement that 'the incident is under investigation' and there is no security concern,” Mr Tibon wrote in a post on X. “To this day, attempts to obtain details of the inquiry have been unsuccessful.”
Israeli government members regularly call for more forced displacement of the civilian population, destruction and assassinations of militants in Gaza. Some also call for Israeli resettlement of the strip.
Politicians from across Israel’s political spectrum paid tribute to the two soldiers.
