An Israeli army reservist was killed by friendly fire while on patrol near the Gaza Strip on Sunday night.
Sgt. Shlomo Shetreet, 25, of Givat Ada, was part of a six-member Israel Defense Force squad stationed near the Nahal Oz checkpoint between Gaza and Israel.
The squad was guarding some heavy earth-moving equipment being used to construct a new perimeter fence around the newly autonomous area.
The site was surrounded by a number of refugee camps from which residents frequently shoot off their weapons to mark celebrations.
Four members of the Israeli squad were resting while two others stood guard around midnight, when shots were heard.
Apparently believing they were the target of an attack, the guards opened fire. In the ensuing exchange of fire, Shetreet was shot in the head. He died instantly.
An initial IDF investigation, launched shortly after the incident took place, found no evidence that hostile forces had launched an attack on the squad.
The sentries’ fire, investigators found, had set off an exchange of shots between the soldiers and one or more of the many armed Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the area.
Palestinian policemen in Gaza also investigated the shooting and found that no attack had been launched from their area.
The IDF is checking the bullets fired at the army squad in an effort to establish who fired off the initial rounds.
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