GOLAN HEIGHTS - IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Sergeant Or Haddad, 20, died on the operating table Thursday night, after being shot in the back during a training exercise.

The IDF confirmed that the Golani Brigade sergeant was shot accidentally by a fellow soldier.

Preliminary reports indicated that the fatal shot came from a nearby tent. The army is investigating whether the bullet was fired while a soldier was cleaning his rifle or if some kind of inappropriate behavior was occurring.

Haddad was buried midday Friday at the Rishon Lezion Military Cemetery near Tel Aviv. He is survived by his parents, three brothers and a sister.

Speaking on Army Radio Friday morning, former head of the Home Front Command and the Central Command Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yair Naveh said whatever the cause of the accident, it must be rectified immediately.

"If it was a game, then it's negligence, and if the bullet was left in the gun following an exercise, then it's still negligence," Naveh said.

"If we've gone back to games with guns, we're in a much more serious situation," he said.

The incident was the second training fatality this week.

On Wednesday, Staff Sergeant Uriel Peretz Librant was killed when the tank he was in veered off course and overturned in a culvert.

Source: The Jerusalem Post