JERUSALEM - An Israeli soldier killed July 6 on the Gaza Strip in an exchange with Palestinian militants was a victim of friendly fire, a military source said Sunday.
He said Sergeant Yehuda Bassel, 21, was "mistaken" for a Palestinian fighter during a confrontation in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.
Sunday's disclosure followed an investigation carried out in the dead soldier's elite Golani regiment.
Israeli army radio said the serviceman was killed as he stood at his post behind a window in a building.
His death had been claimed by the Popular Resistance Committees, a Palestinian militant movement and one of three groups said to be holding another Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, for the past two weeks.
His capture sparked a massive Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip, which began July 5 and has until now taken the lives of 41 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.
07/09/2006 16:46 GMT