Two IDF soldiers killed battling terrorists in central Gaza

Both served in the 8th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 121st Battalion.

By JNS

Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed in action in central Gaza on Monday night, the military announced on Tuesday.

The soldiers were identified as Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Elchanan Knoller, 30, from Jerusalem, and Maj. (res.) Eyal Avnion, 25, from Hod Hasharon.

Both served in the 8th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 121st Battalion.

The IDF was probing the circumstances of their deaths.

On Monday, the military announced the death of Sgt. Ori Itzchak Hadad, 21, from Beersheva, who served as a combat soldier in the Nahal Infantry Brigade’s 931st Battalion.

The force had been conducting targeted counterterrorism raids on Hamas hideouts in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah in recent days.

Also on Monday, an IDF soldier was killed and another seriously wounded by Palestinian terrorists in the Nur Shams camp, east of Tulkarem in Samaria.

The casualty was identified as Sgt. First Class (res.) Yehuda Geto, 22, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur near Haifa.

According to an initial IDF probe, the two soldiers were inside a Panther APC, which was being driven by Geto, when terrorists activated a powerful explosive charge, killing him and disabling the vehicle.

The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27 now stands at 320, and at 674 on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, according to official military data.

Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, a member of the Israel Border Police Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was mortally wounded in Gaza earlier this month during a mission to rescue four hostages, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in the Strip in May.