Israel: soldier returning from Gaza shot friends after ‘waking from nightmare’

An Israeli soldier from the Paratroop Brigade has opened fire on his colleagues after waking up from a nightmare, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Wednesday. A number of soldiers were wounded in the incident, which happened following a deployment in the Gaza Strip.

The channel said that the soldier was staying in a military-affiliated resort in Ashkelon at the time of the incident. Although he was referred to the defence ministry, it has been decided not to investigate him due to his “health condition”.

The shooting comes as the number of Israeli soldiers killed since 7 October has risen to 498, including 170 since Israel started its ground incursion on 27 October in the besieged Palestinian territory.

As of Wednesday, the death toll from Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza has reached 21,110, most of whom were women and children. More than 55,000 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

READ: Israeli army has killed 8,800 Palestinian children in 82 days: Gaza media office