The IDF announced Thursday that 19-year-old Sgt. Ori Ashkenazi Nechemya from Ashkelon was killed by an anti-tank missile in Rafah.
Nechemya was a tank crew member in the 46th Battalion of the 401st Brigade. He was posthumously promoted from Private First Class to Sergeant.
Since the beginning of the war, 695 IDF soldiers have been killed, 331 of them during the ground maneuver in Gaza. Additionally, 4,349 soldiers have been injured, with 21 still hospitalized in serious condition, 172 in moderate condition, and three in mild condition.
Fighting in Gaza continues across multiple fronts while relentless negotiations persist in an attempt to secure the release of hostages and establish a ceasefire in the region.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that according to residents of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza—where the IDF has largely avoided significant ground maneuvers during the war—Israeli tanks advanced from the east and blocked several roads connecting the city to nearby Khan Younis in the south.