Two soldiers KIA in Gaza, bringing IDF wartime toll to 856

Eight hundred and fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on the northwestern Negev.

By Charles Bybelezer, JNS

Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed fighting Palestinian terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Friday.

The slain men were identified as Sgt. Yishai Elyakim Urbach, 20, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 605th Battalion, from Zikhron Ya’akov, and Staff Sgt. Yam Frid, 21, of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion, from Sal’it in western Samaria.

According to an initial IDF probe, the first incident occurred when Hamas operatives fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a building in Rafah’s Jenina neighborhood, where Israeli troops were positioned.

The explosion caused part of the structure to collapse, killing Urbach and wounding two other soldiers—one seriously and one moderately.

Roughly two hours later, in the same area, an armored personnel carrier was struck by an explosive device. Frid was killed in the blast, and four other soldiers were wounded, including three in serious condition.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences in a public statement:

“Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I mourn with the families of Sergeant Yishai Elyakim Urbach and Staff Sergeant Yam Freid, of blessed memory, who fell in battle in Gaza.

“Our hearts are with the dear families who have lost what was most precious to them. May their memory be a blessing.

“Elyakim and Yam fell defending the country in the war for our existence. Their heroism and bravery will be forever etched in our hearts.”

On Monday, the military reported that Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, was killed in an “operational car accident” near the Gaza border. Sahalo, from Rehovot, served in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 5067th Engineering Battalion.

On Sunday, the IDF confirmed the deaths of two soldiers during fighting in southern Gaza: Capt. Noam Ravid, 23, from Sha’arei Tikva in Samaria, and Staff Sgt. Yahli Seror, 20, from Omer, near Beersheva. Both served in the elite Yahalom special operations unit of the Combat Engineering Corps.

An initial investigation indicated the soldiers were killed by an explosion while inspecting the entrance to a tunnel inside a building in Rafah.

Separately, the military reported that Sgt. Niv Dayag, 19, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion, was killed last Friday in a car accident during operational activity in the Golan Heights. Dayag was from Ramat Hasharon.

Eight hundred and fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on the northwestern Negev.