IDF officer dies in accidental Gaza explosion

The officer was named as Lt. Ori Gerlic, 20, a platoon commander with the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion. He was a resident of Meitar.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Israel Defense Forces reported Friday that an officer was killed in what appears to have been an accidental explosion in the southern Gaza Strip.

The officer was named as Lt. Ori Gerlic, 20, a platoon commander with the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion. He was a resident of Meitar.

Military officials said Gerlic was killed during operations in Khan Younis when an Israeli explosive device went off under circumstances that have not yet been determined.

A preliminary investigation has begun, and the army stressed that the cause of the detonation is still under review.

According to the IDF, the fatal incident occurred as troops were engaged in activity in the southern Gaza Strip, though no additional details were immediately released.

The army stated that once the inquiry is completed, its conclusions will be made public.

Just days before the accident, the IDF repelled a rare and large-scale assault by Hamas terrorists in the same Khan Younis area.

According to a military probe, at least 18 terrorists emerged from a tunnel at around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and opened fire with machine guns and RPGs while advancing on an Israeli encampment.

The terrorists managed to wound three soldiers — one seriously — and attempted to kidnap troops, the IDF said. Some breached the perimeter, sparking close combat with Kfir Brigade soldiers.

Troops, backed by airstrikes, killed at least 10 terrorists. Eight others escaped back through the tunnel.

Footage released by the IDF shows strikes on the attackers and soldiers fighting to push them back.

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the IDF spokesman, confirmed that terrorists briefly entered a building housing Israeli troops before being eliminated. “We are investigating how this occurred and will draw the necessary conclusions,” he said.

The IDF noted that tanks and infantry units played a decisive role in neutralizing the assault, preventing what could have been a mass-casualty abduction attempt.