IDF soldier killed in ‘friendly fire’ incident in southern Gaza

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed in an incident of “friendly fire” in the southern Gaza Strip overnight, the military announced on Wednesday.

The soldier was named as Staff Sgt. Ofri Yafe, 21, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit, from HaYogev, a moshav in the Jezreel Valley.

According to a preliminary IDF probe, the incident occurred as two forces from the Paratroopers Brigade set out for routine mop-up operations near the Yellow Line in the Khan Younis area, aimed at clearing Hamas infrastructure.

At around 2 a.m., one of the forces mistakenly identified the second group of soldiers as an enemy and opened fire.

Yafe was critically injured by the gunfire, and a helicopter was dispatched to evacuate him to a hospital. He succumbed to his wounds during the evacuation attempt, the military said.

The military said the circumstances are under further investigation.

Yafe is survived by his parents, Hadas and Iftach, and his siblings Noy, Tzuf and Itamar. According to his family, Yafe loved surfing, hiking and spending time with his friends and family.

The Jezreel Valley Regional Council said Yafe “set out to defend the State of Israel and all of us, and fell in battle.” He was described by the council’s head, Shlomit Shihor Reichman, as “a brave youth, full of life and values, who chose to serve and give back to his country out of a sense of mission and love of the land.”

Of the 472 Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s ground operations against Hamas, 80 were killed by friendly fire and in other accidents, according to IDF data.

Another 1,932 soldiers have been wounded in incidents of friendly fire and accidents in the Gaza Strip, according to the data.

The IDF has assessed that myriad reasons have led to the deadly accidents, including communication issues between forces, and soldiers being exhausted and not paying attention to regulations.

Yafe is the fifth IDF soldier to be killed in Gaza since a ceasefire went into effect in October 2025. On October 19, Maj. Yaniv Kula and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz were killed in an attack by Palestinian terror operatives in Rafah. The attack also wounded Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad, who succumbed to his wounds last month. Then on October 28, Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum was killed in an attack on troops in Rafah.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.