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Five soldiers killed in Gaza, Lebanon bringing IDF toll to 777

The IDF death toll in Gaza since the start of the ground operation there on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 365.

Fallen IDF soldiers Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, 22, from Moledet; Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal, 20, from Hadera; Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, 21, from Neve Tzuf; and Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov, 22, from Rosh HaAyin. Credit: IDF.
Fallen IDF soldiers Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, 22, from Moledet; Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal, 20, from Hadera; Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, 21, from Neve Tzuf; and Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov, 22, from Rosh HaAyin. Credit: IDF.

Five more Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed fighting in the northern Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon, the army said Tuesday.

The soldiers killed in Gaza were identified as Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, 22, from Moledet; Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal, 20, from Hadera; Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, 21, from Neve Tzuf; and Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov, 22, from Rosh Ha’ayin. All four served in the IDF’s elite Multidimensional Unit.

An officer in the unit was seriously wounded in the incident that killed the four.

On Tuesday night, the IDF announced that Master Sgt. (res.) Yedidia Bloch, 31, from Mevo Horon, died of serious wounds he sustained late last week while fighting Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon. Bloch served in the Battalion 7155 of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade.

On Monday night, an IDF soldier wounded in the northern Gaza Strip earlier this month succumbed to his wounds, the army announced.

Maj. Guy Yaacov Nezri, 25, of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion, from Atlit, was seriously hurt in Jabalia on Oct. 19.

The IDF death toll in Gaza since the start of the ground operation there on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 365, while the figure on all fronts since Oct. 7, 2023 is 777.

Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage rescue mission in Gaza in June, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in the Strip in May.

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