After almost a day of investigating, the Israel Defense Forces still does not have a clear-cut answer to the question troubling everyone since yesterday morning: What caused a combat soldier from the Givati infantry brigade to mistakenly open fire and kill Captain Tal Nachman-
Tackling this question and trying to understand whether the incident requires a change in operational procedures during military activities of this sort, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman considered creating a special commission of inquiry to examine the entire set of circumstances surrounding the incident: The operational orders, the briefings received by the soldiers, the soldiers' understanding of the mission and the realities on the ground, and of course -- the actions of the shooter himself.
The investigations that have been conducted to this point show that the shooter did not request permission from a superior prior to opening fire. His comrades recounted hearing him "yell something" and then shooting toward the suspicious figure he saw. Nachman, who was asleep on top of his armored personnel carrier, was wearing a protective vest but the bullet hit him in the back and killed him.
Beyond the issue of the orders, procedures and coordination between the Givati and Field Intelligence Corps units involved, the incident points to the high stress of soldiers serving in the Gaza sector. The constant threat by terrorist organizations to kidnap soldiers -- and the unequivocal directive they are given to "do everything" to thwart a kidnapping attempt -- could lead the soldiers to make tragic mistakes, like what happened on Tuesday, particularly when soldiers who arrived in the Gaza sector just two weeks ago are involved. It is only natural that they are less accustomed to operational duties of this nature or to the tight coordination required between and within each force in the field.
This situation (with difficult conditions on the ground -- almost pitch darkness, in the middle of the night, while part of the force is asleep and part is awake) cannot be completely safety-proofed, no matter what operational procedures are put in place. The IDF has known it share of such tragedies, all of them unnecessary and avoidable, but knows that in the uncertain world of operational activity these "friendly fire" incidents have occurred, do occur, and to our sorrow, will happen again in the future.
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