An Israeli soldier has been killed and four others injured by so-called friendly fire just outside the Gaza border, the Israeli military says.<\/p>\n
The incident happened while the soldiers were involved in a clash with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
\nThe army said the group had been trying to plant explosives underneath the security fence along the border.
\nThe clash follows a month of increased tension along the Gazan border with frequent exchanges of fire.
\nWitnesses in Gaza earlier told news agency they had heard loud explosions close to the border, a short distance from the Nirim kibbutz on the Israeli side.
\nThe Israeli Defence Forces initially confirmed that four of its soldiers had been injured.
\nBut they later said the men, who were part of a group patrolling the border, had been hit by Israeli fire. It also said one had died.
\nThe circumstances of the incident are unclear but there are suggestions that a weapon may have malfunctioned.
\nThe army said it was investigating the incident.
\nIncreased activity
\nEarlier this week, two Palestinian men were shot dead at the Gaza border – Israel said they had been attempting to break through the security fence but this could not be independently verified.
\nIn recent week there has been an increase in activity around the border area, with Palestinians firing rockets into Israel, and the IDF carrying out regular air strikes on Gaza.
\nIsrael says it holds Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, wholly responsible for all of the rockets fired across the border.
\nBut the BBC’s Jon Donnison in the West Bank says many of the attacks are carried out by smaller militant groups, and it is unclear whether Hamas has the power to prevent them.
\nEarlier on Friday, Israeli soldiers shot dead an elderly Palestinian man in his bed, in the West Bank city of Hebron.
\nAmr Qawasme, who was in his 60s, was killed in what is thought to have been a case of mistaken identity during a series of raids to capture members of Hamas.
\nHe was neighbour of a Hamas member who had been released from prison the day before.
\nIsrael said Mr Qawasme was innocent and that it regretted the incident. An investigation is being carried out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An Israeli soldier has been killed and four others injured by so-called friendly fire just outside the Gaza border, the Israeli military says. The incident happened while the soldiers were involved in a clash with Palestinian militants in Gaza. The army said the group had been trying to plant explosives underneath the security fence along […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n