IDF: One soldier killed, two wounded by 'rare Iron Dome malfunction' during Hezbollah fire exchange

Iron Dome interceptor missile crashed into Israeli Navy boat

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Israel Defense Forces on Sunday evening announced that during the exchanges of fire following Israel's pre-emptive strikes to thwart a major Hezbollah attack on Sunday morning, one Israeli soldier was killed and two others wounded.

The three soldiers served as sailors on a Dvora-class patrol boat of the Israeli Navy’s 914th Patrol Squadron.

The fallen sailor was identified as Staff Sergeant David Moshe Ben Shitrit (21) from Geva Binyamin-Adam.

The two injured sailors were in moderate and good condition, respectively.

Hezbollah hit and damaged an Israeli patrol boat. One sailor was reportedly killed and several injured. pic.twitter.com/ogQITI4Ux3
— Mike (@Doranimated) August 25, 2024

According to the IDF’s initial investigation into the incident, reported by Army Radio, a rare Iron Dome malfunction caused an interceptor missile to crash into the boat on Sunday morning.

The incident took place when one, or possibly two, Hezbollah drones infiltrated Israeli airspace off the northern coastline, triggering the launch of Iron Dome’s “Tamir” interceptor missile.

The IDF estimates that for reasons still unknown, the missile changed its target mid-flight, and instead of hitting the drone, crashed into the Dvora patrol boat.

Another possibility under investigation is that the Tamir missile did strike the drone, but the explosion occurred so close to the boat that it was showered with fragments and shrapnel.

The IDF located unexploded parts of the interceptor on the ship. Had the missile detonated, the entire vessel likely would have caught fire, according to Army Radio

The IDF located unexploded parts of the interceptor on the boat. If the missile had exploded, the whole vessel would probably have caught fire, according to Army Radio.

The boat sustained only minor damage and later returned to the port of Haifa, where it is expected to resume operational activities within 24 to 48 hours.

“This is a relatively unusual and rare malfunction that we have not yet encountered. The investigation is still ongoing and it will be necessary to check how the interceptor changed the target to another target, this being our forces,” the IDF stated.

Ben Shitrit was critically wounded by the impact of the Tamir missile, and was transferred to another vessel which took him to the Nahariya port and, from there, he was transported to the hospital.

Despite attempts to save his life, Ben Shitrit was pronounced dead.