Israeli army investigators have found that a rifle shot accidentally fired by a comrade killed a 19-year-old corporal Saturday night in southern Lebanon amid fierce exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and guerrillas to the north.
Cpl. Chaim Bar-Natan of Jerusalem was near the head of a patrol making its way over mountainous, rocky and bush-strewn terrain when a soldier behind him slipped and fell, discharging his weapon in an “operational accident,” a preliminary report said.
The term “operational accident” appears to indicate that the patrol was moving in an area in which an encounter with hostile forces was anticipated, and that the safety catches on their weapons were unlocked.
The accident occurred Saturday in the security zone during a weekend marked by heavy exchanges of fire the Israeli army and its South Lebanon Army allies had with terrorist gunners to the north.
Bar-Natan was buried Monday at the military cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
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