The IDF announced Friday morning that two soldiers were killed when an Israeli military drone exploded inside an outpost in the Gaza Strip. The soldiers were operating the drone when it crashed; they went to investigate the crash site and the device detonated, according to 99th Division Chief Brig.-Gen. Elad Tzuri.
The IDF confirmed Friday morning at 08:22 Jerusalem that two reserve soldiers—Sgt. Maj. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23—were killed when an Israeli military drone exploded inside an outpost in the Gaza Strip. The soldiers were operating the drone when it crashed; they went to investigate and the device detonated, according to 99th Division Chief Brig.-Gen. Elad Tzuri. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered an expert probe led by a brigadier general from the Ground Forces.
At 08:22 Jerusalem, the IDF initially cleared for publication the names of the two fallen soldiers, noting they were killed in a drone explosion. Earlier, at 08:42 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that a drone had crashed inside an IDF outpost in northern Gaza and exploded as two soldiers approached, with their condition unclear. The soldiers were later identified as Sgt. Maj. (res.) Kali and Moalem, both serving in the 7007th Battalion of the 16th Reserve Division. Nir Dvori of N12 reported their names shortly afterward.
The incident occurred amid ongoing IDF operations in the Gaza Strip. As The Zioneer has reported, drone incidents—both from enemy attacks and operational malfunctions—have been a recurring feature of the current campaign. The IDF has opened an investigation into the malfunction that caused the drone to detonate.
The precise reason for the drone's crash and subsequent explosion remains under investigation by the IDF expert team.
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