An Israeli contractor working for the Defense Ministry who was conducting engineering work for the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza was mistakenly killed by IDF soldiers on Tuesday.

The IDF said that it has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the death of the contractor, who was named as Yaakov (Kobi) Avitan, 38 years old.

According to the IDF, Avitan, who approached Israeli troops and did not respond to calls to stop, was unarmed and dressed in civilian clothing, making it unclear why he was shot.