Drone crash inside Gaza post kills two Israeli reservists
Nadav Kali, 24, and Ofek Moalem, 23, were critically wounded when the aircraft exploded after crashing inside their military position. The military has opened an investigation and said all possibilities are being examined, including whether communications interference contributed to the drone's malfunction.
Two Israeli reservists were killed in the northern Gaza Strip after a military drone crashed inside their post and exploded as they approached the downed aircraftd.
The incident occurred Thursday near Beit Hanoun, where Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, of Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, of Jerusalem, were stationed at a military post and operating two drones.
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Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, of Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, of Jerusalem.
The first drone was launched successfully and reached its intended destination. The second did not.
After being launched, the drone crashed inside the military post. Kali and Moalem approached the aircraft after it went down. For reasons that remain unclear, the drone then exploded.
Both soldiers were critically wounded and received medical treatment at the scene before being evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Israel. They were later pronounced dead.
The military has opened an investigation and said all possibilities are being examined, including whether communications interference contributed to the drone's malfunction. Pending the findings, the IDF has suspended use of the drone model involved in the explosion.
The deaths of Kali and Moalem are the latest Israeli military fatalities in Gaza. According to IDF figures, 970 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began.
Before Thursday's incident, the most recent IDF fatality in Gaza was Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, a Paratroopers Brigade soldier from Moshav Hayogev in the Jezreel Valley. Yafe was killed by friendly fire in Khan Younis on February 18 while taking part in an engineering operation to demolish buildings.
The June death of Raad Abu al-Qi'an, a resident of the Bedouin town of Hura who worked in Gaza as a civilian contractor for the Defense Ministry, was also among the more recent Israeli personnel deaths connected to operations in the Strip. Abu al-Qi'an was killed when a building collapsed in Jabaliya.
