Soldier critically injured after being shot in head under murky circumstances

An Israeli soldier was in critical condition with a head wound after being shot by another serviceman under unclear circumstances at a base in the Jordan Valley, the military said early Wednesday.

The soldier, 22, was taken to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem by helicopter for treatment, according an Israel Defense Forces statement, which gave no details on how he was hurt.

A hospital spokesperson said the man sustained a “grave bullet wound to the head” and had been taken to the neurosurgical intensive care unit.

“He is in critical condition and there is an immediate threat to his life,” the Hadassah spokeswoman said.

The soldier was found lying on the ground with a head wound in a relatively isolated part of the base. He was initially believed to have been struck by a rock, but the hospital determined that he had been hit by a bullet, the military said.

There were no indications of any criminal activity or that this was a self-inflicted wound.

A preliminary investigation determined that the soldier appeared to have been hit by “gunfire from another soldier’s weapon within the base,” but that the circumstances were not yet known.

The military said the incident was being looked into and that Military Police opened an investigation in the case, the findings of which will be given to IDF prosecutors.

The family of the soldier was informed of his injury, the IDF added.