Israel army says friendly fire killed five soldiers in north Gaza

The Israeli military said on Thursday that friendly fire had killed five soldiers the previous day in the northern Gaza Strip, where intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war has resumed in recent days.

Asked to confirm media reports that the five fatalities announced earlier in an official statement were caused by Israeli fire, a military spokesperson told AFP: "Yes."

Earlier, Israel's military said Thursday five soldiers had been killed in the northern Gaza Strip, where intense fighting has resumed more than seven months into its war against the Palestinian group Hamas.

The soldiers were killed "in battle" on Wednesday, the army said in a statement, without elaborating on the cause of their deaths.

The latest fatalities take the number of Israeli troops killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27 to 278.

Fighting has raged in recent days in northern Gaza, with an Israeli army spokesman saying there were "attempts by Hamas to rebuild its military capabilities" months after Israel had declared the Palestinian armed group's command structure in the area dismantled.

Fierce battles and heavy Israeli bombardments have been reported in north Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp and the central Nuseirat camp since the army launched a "targeted" operation focusing on the southern city of Rafah in early May.

Agence France-Presse