Earlier this week, a serious incident occurred during an operation by the IDF’s Duvdevan unit in the Kasbah of Shechem (Nablus).
According to a report by Doron Kadish on Galei Tzahal, five soldiers were mistakenly identified as terrorists and were shot at by a parallel IDF unit.
The soldiers nearly lost their lives due to the gunfire, and according to eyewitness accounts, the attack was stopped just seconds before a suicide drone was launched toward them. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
The event occurred when two platoons from the Duvdevan unit were operating in different locations in Shechem. Due to a navigation error, one of the units crossed into the other platoon’s designated sector and reached the roof of a building under the second platoon’s responsibility. A drone operating in the area identified the soldiers as armed suspects and reported the sighting.
Soon after, the second force opened massive fire toward them. The soldiers on the roof quickly lay down and hid. One of them testified, “I thought we were all going to die."
The soldiers on the roof yelled over the radio that they were being shot at, but the message did not properly reach the other unit.
Meanwhile, the second platoon’s team considered launching a suicide drone to strike those identified as “armed." The attack was only halted at the last moment when suspicion arose that the soldiers involved were from the other unit.