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Former officer in elite unit charged in friendly fire killing of two comrades

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent.

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, Ofer Winter and Israeli army officers inspect the area where two officers from the Egoz commando unit were killed in a friendly fire accident outside a base on January 13, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, Ofer Winter and Israeli army officers inspect the area where two officers from the Egoz commando unit were killed in a friendly fire accident outside a base on January 13, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Military prosecutors have filed an indictment against a former junior officer in the elite Egoz unit for killing two of his comrades in an incident of friendly fire a year and a half ago.

Lt. “Nun” is charged with negligent manslaughter for shooting Maj. Ofek Aharon, 28, and Maj. Itamar Elharar, 26, to death on January 12, 2022.

The two slain officers and two soldiers had left the Nebi Musa base in the Jordan Valley to search for thieves after night vision equipment was stolen from a firing range. Nun went on an independent search, and mistakenly identified the other troops as armed men, leading to the deadly encounter.

Nun was moved to another unit after the incident, and in May 2022, ended his military service at his request.

His lawyer, Ram Jeanne, says the indictment is unnecessary. “This is a serious disaster that also left Lt. ‘Nun’ with an unbearably heavy burden, and he shares in the enormous pain of the families,” he says.

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