Two more soldiers killed in Gaza bringing death toll to five
Staff Sergeant Bania Roval. Photo: IDF
It came after the government
decided to move into the next stage of the operation, and after the
units sent into Gaza completed intensive training and preparations.
Earlier
on Saturday, two more soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, the IDF
announced, bringing the total number of Israeli military casualties to
five since the start of the ground offensive.
Staff Sergeant
Bania Roval, a 20-year-old soldier from Holon, serving in the
Paratroopers 101st Battalion, was shot dead by a terrorist in Gaza who
emerged from a tunnel shaft and opened fire at soldiers. The terrorist
was shot dead in return fire.
"Controlling tunnel shafts doesn't give us full control of the entire tunnel," a senior military source said.
The
second soldier, 2nd-Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, from Ramat Yishai, from the
Engineering Corps, was killed as a result of the activation of the
Trophy missile defense system in a nearby tank. The system successfully
blocked an anti-tank missile fired at the vehicle, but the soldier was
killed in the process. The IDF is investigating.
Military
sources said Hamas gunmen have increased their attacks on soldiers who
are searching and finding tunnel entrances in Palestinian homes near
the border with Israel. Simultaneously, Hamas has ordered its members
to use remaining tunnels for immediate cross-border attacks against
Israeli civilians and military targets. Thirteen cross-border tunnels
have been destroyed since Thursday night. The air force had struck some
500 targets since the start of the ground operation.
The IDF
feels it has gained "significant control" of cross-border attack
tunnels, and that this development is "upsetting Hamas," the source
added. Hamas is doing its best to hamper the army's efforts, and
attempts to send a donkey with explosives and a suicide bomber on a
motorcycle on Friday are part of those attempts. Hamas is also trying
to kidnap soldiers.
Additionally, two terrorists attempted to
attack a D-9 armored bulldozer used in uncovering tunnels by the
Engineering Corps. In the attack, two terrorists emerged from a tunnel
entrance. One, a suicide bomber, detonated his explosives, and the
second fired an anti-tank missile. Both were killed in the incident.
The IDF has struck 2,600 Hamas
and Islamic Jihad targets since the start of Operation Protective
Edge, and some 500 targets since the start of the ground offensive. Air
strikes are expected to intensify in northern Gaza, where a
concentration of rocket launchers is located, a senior military source
said.
The IDF has uncovered 36 tunnel shafts and 14 tunnels, some of which are underground cross-border attack structures.
Inside the tunnels, soldiers have found RPGs, bombs,
sedatives, booby traps, and communication devices. Some of the tunnels
featured mini bunkers, the source added. "We are blowing them up. A
large tunnel was found and destroyed. We'll destroy more in the
future," he said.
IDF control centers that manage sensor to shooter cycles
have overseen strikes on several rocket launching squads in Gaza that
were about to fire at Israel, the source added.
Terrorists on the ground are increasing gun and missile attacks on IDF
units on the ground, the source said. The ground units "are not
static. They are dynamic and moving, to search for additional targets
and engagement in the areas they took," he said.
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