Four more Israeli soldiers fell in Gaza on Saturday afternoon.
As per the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, a patrol was ambushed in the north of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. The attack, which happened at close range, resulted in three immediate deaths, while the fourth soldier sustained critical injuries and later died.
The soldiers who heroically gave their lives are Captain Ido Baruch, 21, from Tel Mond; Sergeant Amitai Even Shoshan, 20, from Azriel; Sergeant Reef Harush, 20, from Kibbutz Ramat David; and Sergeant Ilai Tzair, 20, from Kedar.
Their tragic deaths bring the total number of IDF soldiers killed in action over the past six months to 260.
Kan News reports Israel’s troops have been active this past week in Khan Younis, targeting three known terror tunnels that had been under prior surveillance.
The first of these tunnels, identified a decade ago and previously struck during the 2021 Gaza conflict, was only completely demolished now. Shortly after its discovery in 2014, the IDF largely neutralized a second tunnel that extended into Israeli territory. However, the IDF took further action by destroying the last additional segment within Gaza, even though Hamas had made no attempts to repair it.
Lastly, the third terror tunnel, detected in 2019 with a portion crossing into Israel, was closely monitored and sabotaged by the IDF over time before also being dismantled last week.
