Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed during clashes with Palestinian terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Sunday morning.
The slain men were identified as Capt. Noam Ravid, 23, from Sha’arei Tikva in Samaria, and Staff Sgt. Yaly Seror, 20, from Omer, near Beersheva. Both served in the IDF Combat Engineering Corps’ Yahalom special operations unit.
According to an initial IDF investigation, the troops were struck by an explosion while inspecting the entrance to a tunnel located inside a building in Rafah.
A third soldier from the unit was seriously wounded in the incident, the military said.
In a separate incident in northern Gaza, a reservist from the 7007th Battalion of the 16th “Jerusalem” Brigade was critically wounded.
The families of the casualties have been notified.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement following the deaths:
“Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife, Sara, and I send our deepest condolences to the families of Captain Noam Ravid and Staff Sergeant Yahli Seror, of blessed memory, who fell in battle in Gaza.
“We share in the unbearable grief of the families who have lost what is most precious to them.
“We will forever remember our heroes, Noam and Yahli, who defended our country and its citizens. May their memory be a blessing.”
On Friday, an IDF soldier died in a car accident during operational activity in the Golan Heights.
Sgt. Niv Dayag, 19, from Ramat Hasharon, served in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion. During the crash, two additional soldiers in the 890th Battalion and a soldier from the 474th Brigade were lightly injured. The circumstances of the incident are under review.
Eight hundred fifty-three Israeli soldiers have been killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist invasion of the northwestern Negev. Sixty-seven Israel Police officers have been killed in the line of duty during the same period.