IDF soldier lightly injured after gun discharges

Member of the elite Egoz Reconnaissance Unit treated for shrapnel wounds; army investigating incident

By ToI Staff 5 October 2016, 1:02 am

Edit

An IDF infantry soldier armed with an Israeli-made Tavor rifle takes part in an urban warfare drill. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

An IDF soldier was lightly injured on Tuesday evening when his gun accidentally discharged inside his barracks on a Hebron-area base in the West Bank.

The soldier from the elite Egoz Reconnaissance Unit was treated for shrapnel wounds resulting from the bullet ricocheting off a surface in his room.

The IDF has launched an investigation into the incident.

Last Tuesday, an IDF soldier was seriously injured when he was struck by the turret of a Merkava IV tank at the Shizafon training base in southern Israel.

That same day, the IDF handed down punishments to the commanding officers of two soldiers killed in an accidental grenade blast earlier this year, in accordance with an order from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot,

On July 17, Sgt. Shlomo Rindenow, 20, and Staff Sgt. Hussam Tafesh, 24, of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion were killed when a grenade Tafesh had been “playing with” detonated at an army post on the Golan Heights, according to a military official. Three others were also wounded.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.