Two reservists, aged 24 and 23, killed as IDF drone explodes at Gaza post

Two Israeli reservists were killed on Thursday when one of the army's own explosive drones crashed inside the military post where they were stationed in the Gaza Strip and then detonated, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Friday. The military named them as Master Sergeant (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, from Har Halutz, and Master Sergeant (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, from Jerusalem. Both were fighters in the 7007th Battalion.

The Times of Israel, citing the military's preliminary investigation, reported that the pair had been flying small first-person view drones from a post in the northern part of the Strip. One drone completed its task. The second went down inside the post during takeoff, and when the soldiers went to it several minutes later and lifted it, it exploded and fatally wounded them. Ynet reported that the post was in Beit Hanoun and that the cause of the blast was not clear.

What the military has said about the cause

The IDF has not given a reason for the crash or the explosion. According to the Times of Israel account of the initial findings, the reason the second drone fell during takeoff is still unknown. Ynet reported that investigators are looking at every possible explanation, including whether a communications fault led to the detonation.

In a later statement, the IDF spokesperson said the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, had ordered a team of experts to examine what the military called "a serious safety incident". The team will be led by an officer with the rank of Brigadier General from the Ground Forces, and its stated purpose is to examine the circumstances with a view to preventing a repeat.

The drones involved

The Times of Israel identified the aircraft as a type known in the army as "Atalef", the Hebrew word for bat. First-person view, or FPV, drones are steered by an operator watching a live camera feed from the aircraft, and the version described here carries an explosive charge. The reports describe the two reservists as the operators of the drones, launching them from inside the post rather than from a separate site.

The unit and the location

The official list of names, as reproduced by several Hebrew outlets, places both men in the 7007th Battalion of the 16th Brigade. The Times of Israel refers to their formation as the Jerusalem Brigade. Reservists in Israel are civilians who are called back for periods of active duty after completing compulsory service; the rank of Master Sergeant is a senior non-commissioned grade.

According to the Times of Israel, the post sat inside the buffer zone the military maintains within Gaza, in the north of the Strip. Ynet placed it in Beit Hanoun, a town in the northern Gaza Strip.

Who the two men were

Ynet published a profile of Ofek Moalem, reporting that he is survived by a twin brother and had just finished his first year of mechanical engineering studies. A close friend told the site that only the week before, Moalem had spoken about how much he enjoyed reserve duty, even at times when he had not received a call-up order. A former teacher described him as clever, shy and modest. Fewer personal details about Nadav Kali appear in the reports.

Differences between the reports

The accounts agree on the core facts but differ on some details. A Ynet alert gave Moalem's first name as Ofir, while the IDF list, Ynet's main article and every other report use Ofek. The official name list, as republished by several Hebrew outlets, states that each man "fell in battle" in the Gaza Strip, while the IDF's own follow-up statement and the news reports describe an accident with an Israeli drone rather than enemy action. The Times of Israel reported that the soldiers picked the drone up before it exploded; Ynet and commentator Amit Segal said the two had approached it to check it. Joe Truzman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies noted that the explanation involving the IDF drone came from Israeli media reports.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports explains why the second drone fell during takeoff or why it detonated after landing. The IDF has not said whether the drone's charge should have been disarmed or made safe after the crash, whether the soldiers followed or departed from any procedure for handling a downed drone, or whether other troops were nearby. There is no timeline for the expert team's findings, and no indication of whether use of this drone type has been paused. Funeral arrangements are not given in the material.