The IDF has identified the three soldiers who were killed in the Gaza Strip's Rafah region. Staff Sgt. Amir Galilove (20) from Shimshit, Staff Sgt. Uri Bar Or (21) from Sde Boker's Misreshet Ben-Gurion community, and Staff Sgt. Ido Appel (21) from Tzofar in the Arava, all fell on Tuesday when a booby-trapped building exploded.
In this tragic incident, an officer and two additional soldiers from the 50th Battalion in the Nahal Brigade were seriously injured. They were promptly evacuated to a hospital, where their families were informed. Additionally, an officer and a soldier sustained moderate injuries.
As a result of the explosion of a trapped building in East Rafah, 3 soldiers of the Nahal Brigade were killed: Sgt. Amir Galilov, 20y from Shamshit, Sgt. Uri Bar Or, 21y from Midrashet Ben Gurion and Sgt. Audi Appel 21y from Zofar. May their memory be blessed ššš½ā¤ļøšŖš½š®š± @IDF pic.twitter.com/UmHUd8H3P6
ā Shmuel Shalom ש×××× ×©××× Ų³Ł Ų¤Ų§Ł Ų¹ŲØŲÆ Ų§ŁŲ³ŁŲ§Ł (@ShmuelShalom) May 29, 2024
Israeli media reported that the soldiers were scanning tunnels in Rafah when the explosive device detonated, causing a building collapse. Rescue operations continued for several minutes before the deaths of the three soldiers were confirmed. Medical corps personnel managed to stabilize two critically injured soldiers and transferred them to a hospital.
In another incident on the same day, a combat officer from the 614th Battalion of the Combat Engineering Corps and another soldier were seriously injured in northern Gaza after a close-range encounter with terrorists. A fighter from the Yahalom unit of the Combat Engineering Corps was also seriously injured in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip.
The IDF confirmed that seven soldiers from different units were heavily injured in separate incidents across the Gaza Strip over the past day.
WE MOURN
ā Dov Lipman (@DovLipman) May 29, 2024
IDF soldiers Uri Bar Or, 21; Ido Appel, 21; and
Amir Galilove, 20, were killed while fighting Hamas terrorists in Rafah.
May God comfort their families among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/WETtvsT9Nn
Military Movements and Operations
Palestinian reports indicated that Israeli tanks entered central Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, with sightings near the Al-Awda Mosque, a central landmark. This movement occurred less than a week after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ordered a halt to the military's operations in Gaza's southern border city.
Meanwhile, the IDF reported that an additional brigade had joined those already fighting in the Rafah area under the 162nd Division. The 401st and Nahal Brigades operated on the Philadelphi Corridor overnight, targeting terror infrastructure based on detailed intelligence.
Recent Casualties
On Sunday, the IDF reported that Staff Sergeant Betzalel Zvi Kovach (20), a soldier in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion of the Kfir Brigade from Jerusalem, succumbed to his wounds after being critically injured in a battle in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun last week. Later that day, the army announced that Staff Sergeant Sahar Sudaei (20), a soldier of the Givati Brigade's 435th Battalion from Tel Aviv, was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
