On Sunday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced the death of two soldiers during fighting in Gaza, as it marches on major military actions in the Northern Strip of Jabaliya and in Rafah in the South.
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| Staff Sgt. Betzalel Zvi Kovach, 20, left, and Staff Sgt. Sahar Sudaei, 20. Photo: Israel Defence Forces via timesofisrael.com |
The loss of the two soldiers bring the death toll of Israeli soldiers involved in ground offensive and operations against Hamas to 288.
According to timesofisrael.com:
Staff Sgt. Betzalel Zvi Kovach, 20, of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion, from Jerusalem, succumbed to his wounds on Sunday after he was seriously wounded during fighting in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun on May 22. Another three soldiers were killed that day in the town in northern Gaza, two in a Hamas sniper attack and one by an explosive device in a building.
Staff Sgt. Sahar Sudaei, 20 of the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion, from Tel Aviv, was killed in northern Gaza on Sunday, the military announced later in the day. In a separate incident on Sunday, a reservist of the LOTAR Eilat unit was seriously wounded in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF added.
The deaths of the two soldiers bring the death toll of the ground offensive against Hamas and operations along the border to 288. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor has also been killed in the Strip.
