• A swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip injured twelve IDF soldiers.

• The incident occurred during an ongoing operation by the Southern Brigade of the Gaza Division.

• The wounded soldiers were treated in a hospital, one of them required intensive care, a report said.

Twelve Israeli soldiers were injured in an attack by a swarm of wasps in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

According to The Times of Israel, the military said the incident occurred on Friday when a tank accidentally disturbed a nest, causing the insects to fight back.

Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer admitted the wounded soldiers for treatment, one of them requiring intensive care, the report said. The hospital said none of the soldiers’ conditions had worsened and none of them were in critical condition, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli Defense Forces told Business Insider in a statement: “During their activities in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Forces stepped on a wasps’ nest. As a result, 11 soldiers were stung and evacuated in a minor condition to receive medical treatment at a hospital. Another Israeli soldier was evacuated in a moderate condition. Their families have been informed.”

Although this incident was not fatal, attacks by warm swarms can be deadly. A grandfather in Kentucky died last year after being attacked by a swarm of insects, likely yellowjackets.

The bizarre wasp attack is the latest in a series of accidents and errors that have marred the Israeli military’s Gaza operations.

The incident in Gaza occurred during an ongoing operation by the Southern Brigade of the Gaza Division in the border area opposite the Israeli municipality of Nirim.

According to the Sheba Medical Center, some of the soldiers suffered allergic reactions due to the stings of hundreds of wasps – a situation that medical professionals had never seen on this scale before, the Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli hospital responded by mobilizing its intensive care, anesthesia, toxicology and ophthalmology departments to ensure appropriate treatment of the affected soldiers.

On October 7, a Hamas-led attack on Israel left 1,143 people dead, including 767 civilians and hundreds of soldiers.

Since then, nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory wars in the Gaza Strip.

But the Israeli military has also fallen victim to its own interests.

In the wasp incident, the swarm was provoked by a tank rolling over its nest. Other errors by the Israeli forces also led to Israeli casualties and material losses.

Friendly fire killed Israeli hostages and soldiers, including Efrat Katz, who was captured from her kibbutz on October 7 when an Israeli helicopter machine-gunned her captors’ car.

A report in Haaretz Earlier this week it was reported that 22 IDF soldiers had been killed and 54 injured by friendly fire in the conflict so far.

Last week, a U.S. Marine officer said that 40 percent of the drones shot down by the Israeli army were their own.

This story has been updated with a statement from the IDF.

Read the original article on Business Insider