4 Israeli Soldiers Killed During Fighting in Gaza’s Rafah
Four Israeli soldiers were killed, and several others wounded, during fierce fighting in southern Gaza’s Rafah area, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday. The fallen soldiers, all members of the Givati Brigade or its supporting units, were identified as Capt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, 23; Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, 20; Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri, 21; and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon, 21. In the same battle, an officer and two other soldiers from the Shaked Battalion were seriously injured, while two others sustained moderate injuries.
Staff Sgt. Naim, a paramedic, was the first female soldier to be killed in the ongoing ground operations in Gaza. She served in the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade. Capt. Toaff, a deputy company commander, and Staff Sgts. Bakri and Shimon served in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion.
The soldiers’ deaths brought the total number of Israeli troops killed since the start of the military’s ground offensive in Gaza on October 27 to 348. In total, 713 Israeli soldiers have died in fighting since October 7. President Isaac Herzog and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed their condolences to the bereaved families, calling for continued determination to achieve victory and secure the return of Israeli hostages.
The IDF confirmed that those wounded were successfully evacuated from Gaza and are being treated at a hospital.
