Israeli officer killed by friendly fire in 2018, inquiry reveals

Tel Aviv claims the Israeli officer killed in a botched commando raid against Gaza enclave in 2018 was indeed killed by his comrade's stray shot.

According to a statement by the Israeli military, an inquiry into the November incident reveals the dead man was actually hit by friendly fire, as another officer was shooting at Hamas resistance forces, who had stopped the Israelis for questioning.

The fatal shot that killed the Israeli officer had been fired by his comrade "in error", an Israeli spokeswoman told AFP Sunday.

The commando raid that took place on November 11 saw members of Israel's special forces infiltrate into the Gaza city of Khan Younis in civilian cars for an undercover operation.

The forces were reportedly with the elite Maglan unit known for slipping behind enemy lines to gather intelligence or hit targets.

The ensuing firefight between Israeli forces and Hamas claimed the lives of the Israeli special forces officer and seven Palestinian forces, including a local Hamas military commander.

The botched Israeli mission triggered the worst flare-up of violence since the regime's 2014 war on the blockaded coastal sliver.

The raid was followed by a wave of deadly Israeli airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip, but the acts of aggression were met with a firm response from Hamas and other Gaza-based Palestinian resistance factions.

Over 400 rockets were fired from Gaza into the southern parts of the Israeli-occupied territories, causing fatalities in the city of Ashkelon.

During the confrontations, the resistance forces also showed off their precision strike skills when they hit and destroyed an Israeli military bus.