Heavy Losses in Khan Younis: IDF Confirms Death of 7 More Soldiers
During ongoing clashes in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Monday morning that seven additional Israeli soldiers lost their lives over the weekend. Six of them were killed while engaging terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
With the establishment of a second front in Gaza, the majority of the IDF’s southern campaign’s battles have taken place in and around Khan Younis, the enclave’s second-largest city. Reports from Khan Younis residents described intense fighting throughout the night, with Israeli tanks entering the city’s central square. The IDF revealed in a statement on Monday morning that five Israeli soldiers were killed by an explosive device while confronting Hamas’ forces.
According to the statement, the five soldiers belonged to the 5th Brigade’s 8111st Battalion and were battling Hamas terrorists near a school in the Khan Younis area after receiving fire from the building. An explosive device was detonated, resulting in the soldiers’ deaths.
The five soldiers were identified as Maj. (res.) Roman Bronshtein, 46; Maj. (res.) Eviatar Cohen, 42; Sgt. Major (res.) Etay Perry, 36; Master Sgt. (res.) Ari Yehiel Zenilman, 32; and Cpt. (res.) Eliya Yanovsky, 24.
An additional four soldiers were wounded due to the blast, with one individual in critical condition.
In response to the attack, the IDF stated that helicopter gunships and the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes against the terror cell that had initially opened fire from the school, eliminating the Hamas militants responsible for the deaths of the 5th Brigade troops.
The sixth soldier killed in Gaza on Sunday was Sgt. Major (res.) Gideon Ilani, 35, of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 2855th Battalion.
Maj. Gal Becher, 34, of the 36th Division, also lost his life over the weekend in a military-related vehicle crash in southern Israel near the Gaza border.
In a significant move, the IDF conducted an equipment airdrop to the 98th Division’s Commando Brigade, currently engaged in combat in Khan Younis. Due to heavy fighting, the brigade had been disconnected from supply lines, marking the first time since the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon that such an airdrop was carried out.
