Preliminary findings of the investigation into the serious incident the Netzarim Corridor on Sunday, in which Master sergeant (res.) Ido Aviv, 28, and Master sergeant (res.) Kalkidan Mehar, 37, were killed suggest that the IDF soldiers were killed by an Israeli tank shell, accidentally fired at a building where the force was stationed, during an exchange of fire with terrorists.
According to the initial investigation, at 5:00 p.m. near the Turkish Hospital in the Netzarim Corridor, a tank ran over a roadside bomb and the track of the armored vehicle became disconnected as a result. At this point, the firing of rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles started in the area and the Israeli forces returned fire.
In the exchange of fire, a tank of the 679th Brigade came out of a nearby defensive position and fired at a structure that the crew considered suspicious, beyond the limits of its sector. In the building were the two soldiers who were killed and two who were wounded. Another soldier was injured by an anti-tank shrapnel. The initial investigation, conducted by the commander of the 99th division, Brigadier General Barak Hiram, revealed that the force had in fact identified the position of Israeli forces as an enemy force by mistake. Additional deviations from the operational event will be examined. The army is still checking whether the terrorists in the incident have been eliminated.
Aviv, of Karmiel, was a soldier in the Yiftah Brigade’s 9232nd Battalion, and Mehar, of Petah Tikva, was a soldier in the Carmeli Brigade’s 223rd Battalion; both brigades are under Division 99. The reserve force recently replaced the regular Nahal Brigade in central Gaza. This is the only permanent force left for the IDF in the Gaza Strip, whose job it is to secure the corridor for about eight kilometers south of Gaza City, between the border crossing near Kibbutz Be'eri and the Gaza coast.
Aviv, who served in the auxiliary of the Armored Corps, was the oldest son of Emmy and Mark, and the older brother of Niv, 23 and Shaked,18. Ido and his partner for the past six years, Dasha Lioshkavitz, 28, lived In a rented apartment in Kiryat Bialik, and he worked as a senior surf instructor in Kiryat Yam.
Mehar immigrated to Israel 16 years ago and immediately enlisted in the IDF; his mother received the news of his death at her home in Ethiopia. Mehar spent most of his adult life in Ofakim, working in several places, and two years ago he made a professional change when he became a Dan company bus driver in the center and moved to Petah Tikva. Family members tell of a gentle soul, a brother who loved photography as a hobby and even photographed couples and children as a side business.