An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed battling Palestinian terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said on Sunday.
The slain man was named as Sgt. Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, from Ra’anana. He served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade.
On Tuesday, seven IDF troops were killed when their armored vehicle was struck by an explosive.
The soldiers were identified as Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski, 21, from Kfar Yona; Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe, 20, from Rehovot; Staff Sgt. Niv Radia, 20, from Elyakhin; Sgt. Ronen Shapiro, 19, from Mazkeret Batya; Sgt. Shahar Manoav, 21, from Ashkelon; Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, 20, from Eshhar; and Staff Sgt. Alon Davidov, 21, from Kiryat Yam.
The same day, the military announced that a soldier was killed by an Iranian missile launched at the Jewish state. Cpl. Eitan Zacks, 18, from Beersheva, was a member of the IDF’s special operations Multidimensional Unit, aka Unit 888 and the Refaim (“Ghost”) Unit.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 436, and at 880 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, per official military figures.
The IDF is continuing to press ahead with ground operations across Gaza as part of “Operation 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 50 captives.
In a statement to JNS on Sunday, Likud lawmaker Eti Atiya voiced “unwavering support” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and members of the Security Cabinet. She commended their leadership, which she said is guiding Israel toward significant accomplishments across various sectors.
“I stand by our heroic soldiers who are fighting in Gaza and on all fronts,” she said.
Atiya emphasized that the ‘War of Rebirth’ must end with a decisive victory, defined as the return of all hostages and the assurance of security and peace for the children of the south and all Israelis.
“Our soldiers did not sacrifice their lives in vain, and our enemies must understand that this will never happen again,” she said.
