The IDF reported on Saturday that Staff Sgt. Zamir Burke, 20, a combat engineer squad commander in the 401st Armored Brigade's 601st Engineering Battalion, from Beit Shemesh, was killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabaliya.
Another soldier from the battalion was seriously wounded by an anti-tank missile during the incident.
Separately, a 46th Armored Battalion soldier from the same brigade was severely wounded in southern Gaza, and a soldier from the 7th Armored Brigade's 82nd Battalion was severely wounded during an operational accident in northern Israel, which the IDF is investigating.
Meanwhile, the IDF reported that an Israeli aircraft destroyed a rocket launch site in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which it said was poised to fire at Israeli territory. According to the IDF, rockets were launched from the site following the strike but did not cross into Israeli territory.
Earlier in the day, a rocket alert was sounded in Netiv HaAsara near Gaza, but the IDF later confirmed it was a false alarm.
IDF airstrike on rocket launch site in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza
(Video: IDF)
Separately, the World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization announced the suspension of its operations in Gaza after several staff members were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle. The IDF confirmed that one of the fatalities, Hazmi Kadih, was involved in the October 7 massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz. Kadih had been employed by WCK.
In response, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has demanded clarifications from international officials and WCK leadership regarding the employment of personnel linked to terrorist activities.
"IDF and Shin Bet will continue to operate to locate and eliminate terrorists who conduct terrorist activities against the civilians of Israel and those involved in the murderous October 7 massacre," the military said. "We emphasize that according to current information, it is not possible to link the terrorist to a specific abduction attempt."