Israeli civilian mistakenly killed by army fire at Gaza border: Report

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli civilian was mistakenly killed by army forces after crossing the border with the Gaza Strip, Haaretz reported on Monday.

The newspaper said the incident took place on Oct. 23, two weeks after the outbreak of the Gaza conflict.

It cited that a 29-year-old Israeli, who was identified as Aviahu Mori, left his home and crossed the Gaza border on foot for half a kilometer before he was hit by Israeli army fire.

His family reported his absence to the police four days after his disappearance.

Mori “bypassed the military forces in the Nahal Oz (settlement), crossed the (border) fence and walked unhindered for a distance of about half a kilometer into the Gaza Strip,” Haaretz said.

“When he decided to retreat and approach the fence, he was mistakenly identified as a terrorist and killed in a drone strike,” it added.

Multiple reports have emerged of the killing of Israeli hostages and soldiers by army fire in the Gaza Strip.

At least 13 Israelis were killed by Israeli tank fire in Be’eri settlement during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. And in December, three Israelis held by Hamas were mistakenly killed by Israeli forces.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, killing at least 24,100 Palestinians and injuring 60,834 others, according to Palestinian health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The deadly onslaught has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.