[1] Friendly fire incidents were seen before the Gaza invasion and the 7 October attacks, with a non-commissioned officer shot and killed by IDF troops in Summer 2023 while securing an alley way in Jenin with the elite Egoz commando unit.
[7] On 18 December the IDF admitted that "casualties fell as a result of friendly fire on 7 October", but added that "beyond the operational investigations of the events, it would not be morally sound to investigate these incidents due to the immense and complex quantity of them that took place in the kibbutzim and southern Israeli communities due to the challenging situations the soldiers were in at the time.
"[8] In January 2024, an investigation by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth concluded that the IDF had in practice applied the Hannibal Directive from noon of 7 October, ordering all combat units to stop "at all costs" any attempt by Hamas militants to return to Gaza with hostages.
[9][10] According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israeli soldiers inspected around 70 vehicles on the roads leading to Gaza that had been hit by a helicopter, tank or UAV, killing all occupants in at least some cases.
[9][10] In an interview with Israel's Haaretz, Lieutenant Colonel Nof Erez stated that IDF forces were mostly wiped out on the ground along the Gaza border.
"[12][13] A report by a UN Commission published in June 2024 found that the Israel Security Forces applied the Hannibal Directive in several locations, likely killing at least 14 Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023.
"[16] Haaretz further reported that at at 6:40 P.M. military intelligence believed militants were intending to flee back to Gaza in an organized manner from near Kibbutz Be'eri, Kfar Azza and Kissufim.
[20] On 7 October, Ofek Atun and his girlfriend Tamar escaped from the Re'im music festival massacre and attempted to enter kibbutz Alumim, which was also attacked, to seek refuge.
Members of the kibbutz's security squad and a resident soldier mistook them for militants and opened fire, killing Atun and wounding Tamar.
[6] The transparency of Israel's disclosure regarding friendly fire fatalities has made them subject to additional scrutiny, as many nations do not make such information public.
[32] In August 2024, rescued hostage Noa Argamani reported that she had suffered injuries due to Israeli military airstrikes that causes a wall to collapse on her, while she was in held in Gaza.
[1] Retired US Navy admiral and former supreme leader of NATO forces, James Straridis cautioned that the IDF had a very high friendly fire rate, even in a dense urban setting while speaking to reporters.
[34] Atlantic Council fellow and military intelligence expert Alex Plitsas cautioned that due to the fog of war, while any friendly fire instances are cause for concern, it was difficult to discern or reflect on if highlighted broader issues with the IDF and their tactics.
[36] Some experts such as retired US Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland highlighted the urban combat, lack of evacuation, and poor building quality due to the blockade which could cause higher numbers of friendly fire.
IDF veteran Avner Gvaryahu, the executive director of the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, stated that incidents were more common due to a policy of "very loose rules of engagement".
Several sources considered that an errant rocket from Gaza was the likeliest expanation a week after the incident, based on evidence gathered in investigations conducted by the Associated Press,[37] CNN,[38] The Economist, The Guardian, and the Wall Street Journal.
[44] In subsequent visual investigations published on 15 February 2024[45][46] and 17 October 2024, with the latter including situated testimony from doctors, FA cast further doubt on the errant rocket launch theory.
[51] On 30 November 2023, In the Givat Shaul shooting in Jerusalem, two Hamas-affiliated militants from Sur Baher killed three and wounded sixteen Israeli civilians.