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Soldier killed in Gaza, bringing IDF death toll to 695

A preliminary probe found that he was killed by anti-tank missile fire in Rafah.

By JNS

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed battling Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, the military announced.

The slain soldier was named as Sgt. Ori Ashkenazi Nechemya, 19, of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion, from Ashkelon.

A preliminary probe found that he was killed by anti-tank missile fire in Rafah.

Earlier this week, Lt. Shahar Ben Nun, 21, of the Paratrooper Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, was killed by a missile that malfunctioned during an airstrike in southern Gaza.

On Saturday, two Israeli soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in central Gaza. The casualties were identified as Maj. (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, from Rosh Haayin and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mordechai Yosef Ben Shoam, 34, from Geva Binyamin. Both served with the Jerusalem Brigade’s 8119th Battalion.

The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27 now stands at 332, and at 695 on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, according to official military data.

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Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage-rescue mission in Gaza last month, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in May.