An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed in action in the northern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Tuesday.
The slain soldier was identified as Maj. Shahar Netanel Bozaglo, 27, a company commander in the Armored Corps’ 77th Battalion, from Migdal Haemek.
An initial military probe found that a Hamas operative fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Bozaglo’s tank, critically wounding him. He was evacuated to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
The IDF announced on Thursday that four soldiers had been killed in an IED blast in southern Gaza. The slain troops were named as Maj. Omri Chai Ben Moshe, 26; Lt. Ron Arieli, 20; Lt. Eran Shelem, 23; and Lt. Eitan Avner Ben Itzhak, 22.
The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27, 2023, now stands at 465, and at 911 on all fronts since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
‘Operation Gideon’s Chariot II’
IDF troops are continuing operations across the Gaza Strip, striking multiple targets linked to Palestinian terrorist organizations.
In Gaza City, forces hit a military site used by Hamas to fire two rockets toward the Lakhish region and Ashdod on Sunday. They also struck a weapons manufacturing facility. During the activity, soldiers identified a terrorist cell operating nearby and directed an Israeli Air Force craft to eliminate the threat.
According to the military, about 15 Hamas terrorists were killed over the past day in clashes near IDF positions. Troops also destroyed several Hamas terror assets.
In Khan Yunis and Rafah, Israeli soldiers identified terrorists inside a military compound, which was subsequently struck by an IAF aircraft.
On Sunday, the IAF killed Iyad Abu Yusuf, deputy commander of Hamas’s Naval Police, in a precision strike in the Central Camps area of Gaza.
Yusuf took part in the Oct. 7 invasion and later helped plan ambushes against Israeli troops while overseeing Hamas assets in Gaza.
The military said his death dealt a “significant blow” to the capabilities of Hamas’s Naval Police, which has been used to gather intelligence on IDF troops and enforce maritime control for the terrorist group.
IDF chief’s Rosh Hashanah message
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Monday delivered a radio address to troops serving in all combat arenas—air, sea and land—expressing his deep appreciation for their role in safeguarding Israel’s security.
“At the close of another year of combat, as you stand on the frontlines defending our communities and our children, safeguarding the security of Israeli civilians, I wish to convey the gratitude of an entire nation. Thanks to you—truly thanks to you—we are able to sit tonight at the holiday table with a sense of security,” Zamir said.
He emphasized that the nation remains constantly mindful of the heavy price of war—the soldiers who have fallen in battle and the bereaved families whose grief is shared by all.
“All of this is for the security of the State of Israel, for the return of our hostages and until the enemy is decisively defeated,” Zamir said. “I ask you to remember this at every moment and to be filled with our immense pride: You are the Iron Wall of the State of Israel; you are Israel’s eternity; you are the guarantee of victory.”
