Israel Navy sailor killed in Hezbollah attack on north

Israeli Navy Petty Officer Third Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, was killed and two of his comrades were wounded on Sunday morning during Hezbollah’s missile attack on northern Israel, the Binyamin Regional Council announced.

According to a preliminary probe, they were injured by shrapnel when an Iron Dome interceptor missile exploded above their Dvora-class fast patrol boat, part of Squadron 914.

“With great pain we learned this morning that David, son of Shimon and Iris, a council employee and brother of Tamar, Shir and Hodiya, fell while serving in the navy during the fighting in the north,” said Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Israel Ganz.

“David loved the country and was determined to serve the people of Israel and fight for it. This is a hard blow for all of us and especially for the community of Adam [also know as Geva Binyamin], which last week buried the soldier Mordechai Ben Shoam.

“I would like to offer my condolences to the parents and sisters—we are all with you! And also to strengthen the residents of Adam. Thanks to our heroic soldiers, the nation of Israel will win!” said Ganz.

On Saturday, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed while battling Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Sunday. The slain man was named as Staff Sgt. Amit Tsadikov, 20, a fighter in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, from Beit Dagan.

Also on Saturday, the military announced that three reserve soldiers were killed during fighting in central Gaza.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Danil Pechenyuk, 27, from Bat Yam, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Nitai Metodi, 23, from Ashkelon, served in the 16th “Jerusalem” Infantry Brigade’s 6310th Battalion. The third soldier named was Sgt. Maj. (res.) Yaniv Itzhak Oren, 35, of the Jerusalem Brigade’s 8119th Battalion, from Kibbutz Ein Gedi.

The death toll among Israeli troops on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre now stands at 701.