Emanuel Fabian, the military correspondent for Times of Israel, said that out of 170 soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip, 29 were killed by “so-called friendly fire and other incidents”.

Citing data released by the Israeli Defence Forces, he said 18 soldiers were killed by friendly fire due to mistaken identification. Two soldiers were killed by gunfire that was unintended to hit them.

Nine soldiers were killed in accidents, including accidental weapon discharges, being run over, and being hit by shrapnel from controlled demolitions.

Since the beginning of the ground operation, between two and six soldiers have been killed per week in incidents of friendly fire or accidents, according to the data.