Fallen soldiers Staff Sgt. Ofir Berkovich and Sgt. Elishai Young (Courtesy)
Two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile during offensive against Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip.
By World Israel News Staff
Two Israeli soldiers were killed during combat in the city of Jabaliya on Saturday, as the IDF intensifies its offensive against Hamas terrorists still in the northern Gaza Strip.
The two fallen troops were identified in an IDF press release as Staff Sgt. Ofir Berkovich, 20, from the central city of Modi’in, and Sgt. Elishai Young, 19, from the southern city of Dimona.
Both soldiers were serving in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion.
According to a statement from the IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, they were killed when their armored vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile fired by Hamas terrorists.
Berkovich, who had finished nearly all of his mandatory service, was already planning a post-army intentional trip with his brothers, his family said.
His parents, Oren and Aviv, said that his organs would be donated to save the lives of others.
“On behalf of all the residents of the city of Dimona, I share in the Young family’s grief over the death of their son Elishai, a hero of Israel,” said Benny Biton, the mayor of Dimona, in a media statement.
“Elishai belongs to the Hebrew Israelite community in the city,” Biton said, referring to a group of African-Americans who claim Jewish roots that immigrated to southern Israel several decades ago from the U.S.
The Black Israelites are “a community that donates and volunteers” for the betterment of Israeli society, Biton said.
He noted that the community has a “100% enlistment rate in the IDF, indicating their love for the country and their desire to integrate into it, especially for its defense.”
The killing of Berkovich and Young bring the death toll in the Israeli offensive in Gaza to 357. That number includes Yamam special forces police officer Arnon Zmora, who was killed during a June hostage rescue operation, and a civilian Defense Ministry contractor who was killed in May.
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