The IDF reported on Friday that three soldiers from the 196th Battalion’s Tank Commanders Course, part of the 460th Brigade, were killed during operations in northern Gaza.
The fallen soldiers were identified as Captain Barak Israel Sagan, 22, from Petah Tikva; Sergeant Ido Ben Zvi, 21, from Shomrat; and Sergeant Hillel Ovadia, 22, from Jerusalem.
According to the IDF, the soldiers were killed early Friday morning when their Merkava Mark 4 tank suffered severe damage, likely due to a powerful explosive device. One additional soldier was wounded in the incident.
Since the onset of the war, 765 IDF soldiers have lost their lives in combat, the military reports.
The 460th Brigade has been engaged in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya sector, which has seen a resurgence in Hamas terrorist activity, with operations ongoing for roughly a month.
While most civilians in Jabaliya have evacuated, the IDF estimates that several thousand Gazans remain in the now-encircled sector.
In the last month, approximately 45,000 residents have been evacuated, and IDF checkpoints have detained around 300 suspected terrorists. Over the last day, IDF forces report eliminating about 50 terrorists, part of hundreds reportedly killed in the region since operations began.
Earlier Friday, the IDF also reported five additional casualties in southern Lebanon, where an attack on a building housing IDF troops killed five reservists, identified as Major (res.) Dan Maori, Captain (res.) Alon Safrai, Warrant Officer (res.) Guy Idan, Warrant Officer (res.) Omri Lotan and Master Sergeant (res.) Tom Segal.
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