The barrel of an IDF mortar exploded on Thursday at the Black Arrow monument near Kibbutz Mifalsim in the Gaza envelope.
The explosion apparently occurred while launching mortars toward the Gaza Strip as a response to a launch at Israeli communities earlier in the day.
The IDF confirmed that "there was an operational accident as a result of a munitions explosion in a military zone near the Black Arrow monument, where IDF soldiers were stationed. The incident is being investigated."
Five IDF soldiers were killed in a tragic incident on Wednesday when they were mistakenly identified as suspicious. The IDF named the fallen as: Captain Roy Beit Yaakov, 22 years old from the town of Eli, Staff Sergeant Gilad Arye Boim, 22 years old from Karnei Shomron in Samaria Sergeant Daniel Chemu, 20 years old from Tiberias, Sergeant Ilan Cohen, 20 years old from Carmiel, and Staff Sergeant Betzalel David Shashuah, 21 years old from Tel Aviv.
Eight other soldiers were injured in the incident, three of them seriously. The rest were evacuated to hospitals in moderate and mild conditions.