WhatsappIDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says 21 soldiers were killed in the incident yesterday in central Gaza, close to the border community of Kissufim.
He says that troops were operating in an area around 600 meters from the border, destroying structures and Hamas sites, as part of the army’s efforts to establish a buffer zone to allow residents of Israeli border communities to return to their homes.
“As far as we know, at around 4 p.m., an RPG was fired by terrorists at a tank securing the forces, and simultaneously, an explosion occurred at two two-story buildings. The buildings collapsed due to this explosion, while most of the forces were inside and near them,” he says.
Hagari says the explosion was likely a result of mines planted by troops to demolish the buildings, but the cause of the detonation was still under investigation.
For several hours rescue forces worked to extract the casualties from the collapsed buildings.
Soldiers whose names have been released are:
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Haifa.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Mevo Beitar
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Ramat Gan.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Kiryat Arba.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Yoval Lopez, 27,of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Alon Shvut.
Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yehud-Monosson.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Jerusalem.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Cydrick Garin, 23, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Tel Aviv.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Rishon Lezion.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rahat.
Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Givatayim.
Master Sgt. (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Bnei Dekalim.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.
Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Elazar.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rosh Haayin
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, 35, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Herzliya.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Mesilot
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, 40, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Zichron Yaakov.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, 38, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yokne’am Illit.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi issues a video statement on the deaths of 21 soldiers in a blast and building collapse in the central Gaza Strip yesterday
“We share in the grief of their families for the heavy loss, and know that the pain is too much to bear,” Halevi says.
“If this is any comfort, I would like the families to know, they fell in battle near the border fence, during a defense operation in the buffer zone between the Israeli communities and Gaza. This is a task whose entire purpose is to create the security conditions for the safe return of the residents of [the Gaza border communities] to their homes,” he says.
“To that end, we went to war, which began with a cruel attempt to stop life, and we are more determined than ever to bring life back here, even more strongly,” Halevi continues.
