HY’D: Three IDF Soldiers Killed In IED Attack In The Gaza Strip

Three Israeli soldiers were killed and two were wounded by an explosive device during operations in northern Gaza’s Jabalia yesterday evening, the military announced.

The slain soldiers are named as:

Staff Sgt. Lior Steinberg, 20, a combat medic, from Petah Tikva.

Staff Sgt. Ofek Barhana, 20, a combat medic, from Yavne.

Staff Sgt. Omer Van Gelder, 22, a squad commander, from Maale Adumim.

The other two wounded troops are listed in moderate condition.

The troops all served in the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion. During the incident in Jabalia, they were operating in a platoon under the 9th Armored Battalion.

Palestinian terror operatives who planted roadside bombs used in the deadly attack set out from a tunnel hidden inside a partially demolished building, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.

“The terrorists set out from a tunnel shaft in a building and planted the explosive devices. This is an active tunnel that is used for terror,” he says.

“The entrance to the tunnel is located inside a destroyed building, close to a route. Therefore it is important to emphasize, this building is a military target, like tens of thousands of other buildings in Gaza that are used for terror,” Defrin says.

“Nearly every other building is booby-trapped and contains a tunnel entrance. We are demolishing these homes, not for the sake of destroying. Every building that is destroyed posed an operational threat, and could harm our forces,” he adds.

Their deaths bring Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 423. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.