AMIR COHEN | Reuters
- Efrat Katz was likely killed when a helicopter opened fire on the car abducting her.
- The car held several Hamas fighters.
- The Israeli airforce chief said he "did not find fault in the operation by the helicopter crew."
Efrat Katz, an Israeli grandmother, was likely killed by the IDF when Hamas militants infiltrated her kibbutz on October 7, the Israeli media reports.
Hamas gunmen attempted to abduct Israeli hostages, including 68-year-old Katz, alongside other Israeli hostages from the Kibbutz Nir Oz.
An Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopter gunship opened fire on a car as battles were waged in southern Israel.
The car held several Hamas fighters, but a probe found that it also contained Israeli hostages.
"As a result of the shooting, most of the terrorists in the vehicle were killed, and apparently the late Efrat Katz," the IDF said, per the Times of Israel.
The chief of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, said that he "did not find fault in the operation by the helicopter crew, who operated in compliance with the orders in a complex reality of war."
Incidents of friendly fire on October 7
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
On October 7, 2023, exactly six months ago today, Hamas militants infiltrated the Gaza border and launched a coordinated terrorist attack on Israeli communities.
A previous police investigation indicated that the IDF had mistakenly shot Nova festival attendees on October 7, Haaretz reported in November.
Hamas militants targeted the psychedelic trance festival near Kibbutz Re'im after they penetrated the border. They killed 364 attendees and abducted 40.
A source told Haaretz that an IDF combat helicopter had accidentally hit festivalgoers while firing at Hamas militants.
Israeli police pushed back against the Haaretz report, saying that the "actions of the IDF were beyond the remit of the investigation the source was speaking about," per the Times of Israel.
Another incident of friendly fire is being investigated in Kibbutz Be'eri in which a house was shelled by a tank, killing 12 Israeli hostages held by Hamas gunmen.
The October 7 incursions into Israel resulted in around 1,200 casualties, the worst loss of life in a single day since Israel's founding in 1948, per Reuters.
More than 240 people were abducted and taken captive.
Since the Hamas-led attack, Israel's retaliatory war campaign on Gaza has incurred a death toll of over 30,000 Palestinians, the UNRWA reports.
UN chief António Guterres said he was "appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza" and has called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and unconditional release of all the hostages.
Business Insider contacted the Israeli Ministry of Defense for comment.