A day after a Namer armored combat engineering vehicle was attacked by anti-tank missile killing all eight soldiers inside, the IDF spokesman allowed on Sunday morning the publication of the names of five of the dead soldiers, all from the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion.
The serious incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, when the massive explosion occurred in an armored vehicle near the Tel a-Sultan refugee camp.
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Sis soldiers killed in the Namer explosion whose names have been released for publication
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The names of the dead soldiers released on Sunday are Sergeant Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, 21, from Beit Shemesh; Sergeant Itay Amar, 19, from Kochav Yair; Staff sergeant Stanislav Kostarev, 21, from Ashdod; Staff sergeant Orr Blumovitz, 20, from Parders Hana; and Staff sergeant Oz Yeshaia Gruber, 20, from Tal Menashe. On Saturday night, the name of Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23, from Beit Jann was announced as being among the dead.
The names of two other fallen soldiers are expected to be released later on Sunday.
The attack happened at around 5:15 a.m. in the southern Gaza Strip. Before the incident, an engineering force that was attached to the battalion of the Givati Brigade fought with them during the night, and together - according to the IDF - they eliminated about 50 terrorists. After the operation, the force was in a convoy on its way to a building captured by the IDF where they planned to rest after the operation.
On the way to that building, a large explosion occurred without any firing in the area. IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said that the explosion was "likely caused by an explosive device planted in the area or as a result of an anti-tank missile being fired. Inside the armored vehicle there were eight soldiers who were killed." He announced that: "Following this difficult incident, a team of experts of the Defense Ministry and IDF will examine the armored vehicle and all the details of the incident, until we reach findings.”
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Sergeant Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, 21, from Beit Shemesh
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
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Staff sergeant Oz Yeshaia Gruber, 20, from Tal Menashe
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The armored vehicle, which was the fifth traveling in the convoy, caught fire following the explosion. It is possible that the blast caused the detonation of explosives stored on the side of the vehicle, adding to the power of the blast. Such stored explosives are not supposed to ignite in such an attack nor to cause injuries to troops inside the Namer.
The massive fire that broke out in the wake of the explosion completely consumed the vehicle. According to one estimate, an explosive device was attached by terrorists directly to the bottom of the Namer.
The vehicle burned for a long time, and rescuers could not reach it for about two hours. The IDF put drones into the air a short time later to try to find terrorists in the area, but none were located.
The Namer armored combat engineering vehicle is an improved version of the Merkava APC. It was developed in Israel, entered service in 2016 and replaced the Puma combat armored engineering vehicle. It is based on a regular infantry armored personnel carrier, but includes some improvements and adjustments and can carry 10 soldiers. The Namer also has engineering capabilities, such as the ability to breach minefields and tools to neutralize charges.