A civilian contractor working for the Israeli Defense Ministry was killed in an IED explosion during an operation to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, the Binyamin Regional Council announced on Thursday.
David Libi, 19, from the Malachei Hashalom outpost in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria, was deployed to Gaza with the Israel Defense Forces’ Combat Engineering Corps, operating an excavator.
The IDF said that the blast occurred in Gaza’s north, with reports saying the excavator was completely destroyed and Libi was killed instantly.
Libi’s father, Eliav Libi, founded the Malachei Hashalom farming outpost, close to the more established community of Kokhav HaShahar, Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz said.
“David was on the front lines of the Gaza war, demonstrating supreme dedication to the mission of defeating the enemy,” Ganz said. “Many destructions of terrorist infrastructure are credited to his name.
“On behalf of all the residents of Binyamin, I send condolences to his father, my dear friend Eliav, to his wife, Sarah, as well as to his brothers, sisters, and the entire Libi family. Thanks to your son’s heroism and sacrifice, the people of Israel will prevail!” the council leader said.
On May 20, the British government imposed sanctions on the Libis’ family business, Libi Construction and Infrastructure Ltd., accusing the firm of providing “logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts resulting in the forced displacement of Palestinians.”
The death toll among IDF troops since the start of the ground incursion in Gaza on Oct. 27, 2023, now stands at 416, and at 858 on all fronts since the Hamas-led terrorist assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Additionally, civilian contractors Liron Yitzhak and Kobi Avitan were mortally wounded in Gaza in May 2024 and January 2025, respectively, and Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was slain during a hostage-rescue a year ago.
