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IDF soldier dies in car crash during operational activity near Gaza border

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, from the central city of Rehovot, served in the 5067th Engineering Battalion.

Fallen Israel Defense Forces soldier Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, from the central city of Rehovot, a soldier in the 5067th Engineering Battalion of the Combat Engineering Corps. Credit: IDF.
Fallen Israel Defense Forces soldier Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, from the central city of Rehovot, a soldier in the 5067th Engineering Battalion of the Combat Engineering Corps. Credit: IDF.

An Israel Defense Forces soldier died in an “operational car accident” near the Gaza border, the military announced on Monday morning.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, from the central city of Rehovot, served in the 5067th Engineering Battalion of the Combat Engineering Corps, the military said in its official announcement.

A total of 854 IDF troops have been killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror invasion of the northwestern Negev.

On Sunday morning, the IDF announced that two soldiers were killed during clashes with Palestinian terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to an initial IDF probe, the troops were struck by a blast while inspecting the entrance to a tunnel located inside a building in Rafah.

On Friday, an IDF soldier died in a car accident during operational activity in the Golan Heights.

Sgt. Niv Dayag, 19, from Ramat Hasharon, served in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion. During the crash, two additional soldiers in the 890th Battalion and a soldier from the 474th Brigade were lightly injured. The circumstances of the incident remain under review.

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