IDF names three soldiers killed in fighting in central Gaza Strip

The Israeli military announced on Saturday that 26-year-old Sergeant First Class (right) Danil Pechenyuk from Bat Yam, 23-year-old Sergeant First Class (right) Nitai Metodi from Ashkelon and 35-year-old Sergeant Major (right) Yaniv Itzhak Oren from Ein Gedi were killed in fighting in the central Gaza Strip.

Danil Pechenyuk and Nitai Metodi were killed in a serious explosive device incident on Friday that also left Sergeant First Class (res.) Evyatar Atuar dead and seven other soldiers injured.

The incident in which the three soldiers were killed left seven others injured: four seriously and three moderately. It occurred during a battalion raid by a unit of the 16th Reserve Brigade, which was expanding its operations to the Zeitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, north of the Netzarim Corridor, to detect tunnels, terrorist infrastructure and Hamas weapons.

Since the beginning of the war, 699 Israeli soldiers have been killed, 336 of whom died during the ground offensive in Gaza. A total of 4,376 soldiers have been wounded, 650 of whom are in serious condition. Since the beginning of the ground offensive, the number of wounded has risen to 2,249, 422 of whom are in serious condition. According to the Israeli army, 23 soldiers are in hospital in serious condition, 171 in moderate condition and 8 in light condition.

At around 8:20 a.m. on Friday, a unit from the 6310th Battalion, led by a squad leader and four soldiers, entered a building on the outskirts of the neighborhood to conduct a raid. An explosive device hidden in the building's outer wall remained undetected and was detonated as the soldiers regrouped outside. The injured soldiers were evacuated to hospitals in Israel in two quick helicopter flights.

Initial military assessments suggest that the terrorists probably spotted the soldiers from a distance using a surveillance camera set up on the street. This tactic appears to be part of an ongoing effort by Hamas in northern Gaza to study and adapt to IDF operations during recent attacks.