Five Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Wednesday.

A platoon commander and four soldiers from Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade died and eight additional soldiers were wounded by IDF tank fire, three seriously. The rest of the wounded soldiers were evacuated to hospital in moderate and light condition.

The casualties were identified by the IDF on Thursday morning as Capt. Roy Beit Ya'akov, 22, from Eli; Staff Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim, 22, from Karnei Shomron; Sgt. Daniel Chemu, 20, from Tiberias; Sgt. Ilan Cohen, 20, from Carmiel; and Staff Sgt. Betzalel David Shashuah, 21, from Tel Aviv.

The incident brings the Gaza death toll since the start of the ground invasion on to 273 and to 621 on all fronts since the start of the war on October 7.

Of the 273, at least 49 have been killed in friendly fire incidents by the IDF.

Israeli forces are currently conducting a major operation in Jabalia to quell a Hamas insurgency there. The friendly-fire incident occurred at an axis captured on Wednesday morning in a raid that included two tanks.

At around noon, soldiers entered a three-story building some 10 meters from the tanks. According to a preliminary investigation, the tank crews were unaware that the deputy commander of the 202nd Battalion had set up field headquarters in the building, and fired on what they thought were enemy fighters.

"The army still does not know the reason for the shooting and the apparent deviation from the boundaries of the sector, since the armoured force that erred organically belongs to the 202nd Battalion's combat team, so it is not clear how such a fatal mistake occurred," Ynet reported.

Three brigade combat teams are operating in Jabalia, and around 130 terrorists have been killed so far. Most of the city's civilian population has been evacuated.