An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed fighting terrorists in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Wednesday night.
The soldier was identified as IDF Staff Sgt. Stav Halfon, 20, a member of the 603rd Engineering Battalion of the 7th Brigade, from Petach Tikvah.
Halfon was reportedly killed by terrorist sniper fire in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 428, and at 871 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, per official military figures.
On Tuesday morning, the IDF announced that Staff Sgt. Naveh Leshem, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, was killed in southern Gaza.
Soldiers of the IDF’s Givati Brigade, under the command of its 162nd Division, are operating against terrorists in the Jabaliya area of the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF said in a separate announcement.
Over the past weeks, forces “eliminated numerous terrorists, dismantled military infrastructure above and below ground, and located and seized weapons, some of which were hidden in civilian buildings,” it stated.
As part of the counter-terrorism raids, the forces identified a Hamas cell advancing toward them from the direction of Kfar Jabaliya, the IDF said. In coordination with the Israeli Air Force and the brigade’s firepower coordination unit, the soldiers managed to eliminate the terrorists.
“The IDF continues to operate in the Gaza Strip to safeguard the security of the civilians of the State of Israel,” the military stated.
The military raids came amid continued IDF ground operations across the Strip as part of “Gideon’s Chariots,” a campaign with the stated goal of dismantling Hamas’s remaining military capabilities, taking control of key areas in Gaza, and securing the release of the remaining 53 captives.
