The IDF spokesman announced on Thursday morning the deaths of three IDF soldiers.
Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, 20, from Tel Zion, and Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj, 20, from Tel Aviv, both infantrymen in the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion, were killed in the car ramming attack in the West Bank on Wednesday night. Staff Sgt. Yedidya Azugi, 21, from Revava, of the Paratrooper Brigade’s 101st Battalion, was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
In the battle in which Azugi fell, a soldier from the 101st Battalion was seriously injured. In addition, two soldiers from the 601st Battalion, 401st Brigade, the 'Iron Foot Formation' of the Combat Engineering Corps, were seriously injured in battle in the southern Gaza Strip. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Israel, and their families were informed.
Since October 7, 642 IDF soldiers have been killed, including 291 in Gaza ground operation.
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Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, 20; Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj; and Staff Sgt. Yedidya Azugi
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Wednesday night's attack took place on road 5077, at a checkpoint set up at one of the entrances to Nablus, near the settlement of Itamar in in the northern West Bank. At the beginning of the incident, Magen David Adom reported that the two soldiers who were injured were unconscious, and they were taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.
The terrorist reportedly turned himself into the custody of Palestinian Authority security forces. He arrived from Nablus, committed the car-ramming attack and fled back into the city. A large number of IDF forces were deployed to the area and set up roadblocks as troops launched a manhunt to locate him.
Hillel, who was killed in the attack, was a resident of Tel Zion in Binyamin. He served as a military officer in the Kfir Brigade, and is survived by his parents and three brothers and sisters.
Hilel was slightly wounded by shrapnel during the fighting in Gaza about three months ago, and returned to operational activity.
The head of the Binyamin Regional Council and the chairman of the Yesha Council, Israel Gantz, eulogized him: "How happy his mother Hana was with her Eliya - and proudly told us about him. Tonight we received the hard news about his fall at the hands of a cursed terrorist in Samaria. Eliya from the best of our youth in Binyamin. Thanks to him and thanks to his friends, Israell lives and Israel will win."
Azugi, who fell in the northern Gaza Strip, lived in the West Bank settlement of Revava. He served as a platoon sergeant in the 101st Battalion, and is survived by his parents and five brothers and sisters. Rabbi Uriel Ganzel, the rabbi of the Revava, paid tribute to him: "Yedidya, a hero. A man of principles. A beloved child. Always with a big smile on his face. And a huge amount of faith. You were devoted to your family and friends without limit. And so you fell bravely for the common good. My heart hurts, and my eyes are full of tears. Your holy memory will accompany us on the road to redemption," he said.
The chairman of the Revava council, Shai Aharoni said that Azugi "was a humble and quiet boy, always smiling, surrounded by friends, I met him when I was the youth coordinator of the community, and he was a hardworking boy who wanted to help everyone. We will miss him, his involvement, his giving, his Zionist spirit. All of Revava is in heavy mourning. A heavy blow to the community." The head of the Samaria Council, Yossi Dagan said he was "a charming man with a broad smile and a big heart. A leader in the community and a leader among his friends. We will honor his memory and follow his path - the path of heroes."