The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported that four soldiers lost their lives after their vehicle hit an explosive device in the Rafah sector. The Hummer they were traveling in was struck by the blast.
The soldiers who died were named as Major Omri Chai Ben Moshe, 26, from Tzafria; Lieutenant Ron Arieli, 20, from Chadeira; Lieutenant Eitan Avner Ben Yitzchak, 22, from Har Bracha; and Lieutenant Eran Shelem, 23, from Ramat Yochanan.
Alongside the deaths of Major Ben Moshe, Lieutenant Arieli, Lieutenant Ben Yitzchak, and Lieutenant Shelem, a cadet serving in the “Dekel” Battalion at the Officers’ Training School sustained life-threatening injuries.
The wounded cadet was taken to a hospital for urgent treatment, and his relatives were informed. Two additional cadets suffered injuries in the same incident.
According to the IDF, investigators are reviewing the possibility that a Hamas sniper opened fire at the soldiers before the explosive device was triggered, while the unit was carrying out standard operations along the Philadelphi Corridor.
Samaria Governor Yossi Dagan, who was related to Eitan Avner Ben Yitzchak, delivered a tribute: “Eitan grew up in a value-driven, Zionist family, a Torah scholar, a strong believer in settling the land, a frontline fighter, dedicated. Naturally, they established their home in Har Bracha. At their wedding, they held a special memorial for their fallen friends. Our hearts break for the youth, for the family that should have flourished here in Samaria, but now will not.
“Dear Atara, daughter of a longstanding Har Bracha family, who grew up here and brought him to Samaria, now we must accompany him on his final journey. All of us—the council and the settlement—will support the Ben-Yitzchak and Steinbach families in every way possible during this difficult hour. We will strengthen each other and never break; we are here to build the land and prevail.”
The Har Bracha community also issued a statement: “We share in the grief of Atara, a resident who got married only about two months ago. We stand with Atara and the Steinbach family, a longstanding and rooted family in the community, who raise their eight children with dedication in the heart of Samaria.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
