GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In a move unprecedented in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Israeli army has admitted it mistakenly killed a Hamas member near the Israeli border in the north of the Gaza Strip on July 11.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee tweeted July 11, “In the morning, an [Israeli] unit detected the presence of several Palestinians at the border fence area in the north of the Gaza Strip. Preliminary investigations show that an operative in the Hamas-affiliated field control unit arrived in the area following Palestinian movement adjacent to him, and it later appeared that the [Israeli] unit mistook him for an armed vandal and shot him down due to this misunderstanding. More will follow about the investigation.”

The Hamas operative was a member of a security unit in charge of controlling the border and preventing any Palestinians from infiltrating into Israel.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, rejected the admission of error and said in a statement July 11 that the Israeli army deliberately shot at one of their members, identified as Mahmoud al-Adham. The statement also said, “We are examining and evaluating this Zionist crime, and we assure you it will not pass unnoticed. The enemy will bear the brunt of its criminal act.”