An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed in action in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Friday morning.
The slain infantry officer was named as Capt. Reei Biran, 21, a squad commander in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Shorashim in the Lower Galilee.
Biran was reportedly killed when mines intended to demolish buildings used by Hamas terrorists were detonated, apparently accidentally. The IDF said the incident is under investigation.
On Wednesday, the military announced the death in Gaza of Master Sgt. (res.) Abraham Azulay, 25, a heavy engineering vehicle operator in the Southern Command, from Yitzhar in Samaria.
According to an initial IDF investigation, the incident occurred when Palestinian terrorists emerged from a tunnel and opened fire on Israeli troops in Khan Yunis. The attackers attempted to abduct Azulay, who resisted and was shot and killed during the struggle.
A day earlier, the IDF announced that five soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip.
The casualties were identified as Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, from Jerusalem; Staff Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar, 20, from Jerusalem; Staff Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, from Jerusalem; Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin, 20, from Haifa; and Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, from Beit Shemesh.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, stands at 446, and at 890 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, according to official IDF data.
The IDF is continuing to press ahead with ground operations across Gaza as part of “Gideon’s Chariots,” a campaign to dismantle Hamas’s remaining military capabilities, take control of key areas in the Strip and secure the release of the 50 captives.
IDF eliminates terror cell, senior Jihad commanders in Gaza
Israeli forces operating in Khan Yunis dismantled terrorist infrastructure and eliminated an armed cell in recent days, the IDF said on Thursday.
The 188th “Barak” Armored Brigade, operating under the 36th “Rage” Armored Division, worked with the Israeli Air Force to target terrorist operatives and uncover tunnels, including a route nearly a kilometer long.
Separately, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) confirmed the targeted killing of Fadl Abu al-Ata, commander of Islamic Jihad’s Shejaiya sector in Gaza City.
In a joint IDF-ISA operation, the army ELIMINATED Fadl Abu al-Ata, the Islamic Jihad's Shejaiya sector commander, who played a key role in the October 7 attack and directed several attacks against the IDF.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 11, 2025
Hamed Kamel Abd al-Aziz Iyad, the terrorist responsible for the Turukman… pic.twitter.com/vbxltgj2L8
Abu al-Ata took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and was involved in coordinating attacks against Israeli forces throughout the war. Another senior operative, Hamed Kamel Abd al-Aziz Iyad, a specialist in explosives with the group’s Turukman Battalion, was also killed.
The IDF stressed its ongoing efforts to neutralize threats from Gaza and protect Israeli civilians, particularly those living near the border.
