Two reservists killed in north Gaza, as soldiers slain in Rafah blast named

Two reservists were killed when their tank came under attack in northern Gaza over the weekend, the military announced Sunday, as soldiers slain in a separate blast in the Strip’s south were named. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cpt. (res.) Eitan Koplovich, 28, from Jerusalem, and Warrant Officer (res.) Elon Weiss, 49, from Psagot, were killed by an explosive device detonated against their tank, an initial probe found.

Both soldiers served in the 8th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 129th Battalion,

Two other soldiers in the tank were seriously wounded by the blast, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Their deaths brought the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas and amid operations along the Gaza border to 311. The toll includes a police officer killed in a hostage rescue mission. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor was also killed in the Strip.

Also Sunday morning, the IDF released the names of six of the eight combat engineers killed in a blast in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Saturday morning, in the deadliest incident for the military in the Strip in six months.

The soldiers were named as:

Sgt. Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, 21, from Beit Shemesh; Sgt. Itay Amar, 19, from Kochav Yair; Staff Sgt. Stanislav Kostarev, 21, from Ashdod; Staff Sgt. Orr Blumovitz, 20, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur; Staff Sgt. Oz Yeshaya Gruber, 20, from Tal Menashe; and Sgt. Yakir Ya’akov Levi, 21, from Hafetz Haim.

Seven of eight Israeli soldiers killed in a blast in southern Gaza’s Rafah on June 15, 2024: L-R top: Sgt. Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, Sgt. Itay Amar, Staff Sgt. Stanislav Kostarev; bottom: Staff Sgt. Or Blumovitz, Staff Sgt. Oz Yeshaya Gruber, Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud, Sgt. Yakir Ya’akov Levi
According to an initial IDF probe the troops, all from the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion, were killed inside a Namer armored combat engineering vehicle (CEV) that came under attack by an explosive device or an anti-tank missile. There were no survivors.

On Saturday, the IDF named one of the eight troops: Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud, 23, a deputy company commander in the 601st Battalion, from Beit Jann.

The name of the eighth soldier was due to be released later on Sunday.

Separately on Saturday, an IDF soldier seriously wounded earlier in the week in Rafah succumbed to his wounds, the military announced.

He was named as Sgt. Yair Roitman, 19, of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Karnei Shomron.

Roitman was wounded in a blast in a booby-trapped building on June 10, in an incident that killed four other soldiers and wounded six, including four seriously. smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc smc

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