The IDF announced the names of 16 IDF soldiers who were killed in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip amid the IDF’s ongoing ground operation on Wednesday and Thursday.
The soldiers named were Lt. Ariel Reich, 21, from Jerusalem; Cpl. Asif Luger, 21, from Yagur; Sgt. Adi Danan, 20, from Yavne; Staff-Sgt. Halel Solomon, 20, from Dimona; Staff-Sgt. Erez Mishlovsky, 20, from Oranit; Staff-Sgt. Adi Leon, 20, from Nili; Cpl. Ido Ovadia, 19, from Tel Aviv; Cpl. Lior Siminovich, 19, from Herzliya; and Staff-Sgt. Roei Dawi, 20, from Jerusalem; and 2nd-Lt. Pedaya Mark, from Otniel, Staff-Sgt. Roei Sargosti from Nahal Haro'eh Farm, Sgt. Shay Arvas from Holon, and Sgt. Itai Yehuda from Rishon Lezion.
On Wednesday evening, the IDF released the name of another soldier, Shalev Zion Sharabi, 22, from Teneh Omarim, from the 749 Battalion, who was killed in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip.
IDF Lt. (res.) Yuval Zilber, 25, from Ramat Gan, and Lt.-Col. Salman Habaka, 33, from Yanuh-Jat, a commander in the 53rd Battalion, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Thursday.IDF St.-Sgt. Yair Nifousy also fell during fighting in Gaza on Thursday, the Israeli military announced. Nifoussy died from his wounds suffered on Wednesday.
Also on Tuesday, two soldiers from the 77th Battalion were killed when their tank drove over an anti-tank device.
According to reports, an RPG hit the building where soldiers of the Sayeret Givati Battalion were based, killing two of the soldiers.
Staff-Sgt. Roei Dawi, 20, from Jerusalem, fell during IDF battles in the Gaza Strip. Dawi served in the Givati Brigade as a squad commander.
Dawi was killed along with seven other Givati fighters after terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at an armored vehicle that the soldiers were in during a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
Ido Ovadia, 19, from Tel Aviv, was among the seven other Givati fighters who were killed in an attack.
Ovadia's father, Ofer, called his son an "amazing, sociable boy who loves to help."
"He wanted to be a fighter," Ofer explained during a press statement. "Before entering Gaza, he was tense and not calm; he spoke to us on the phone and said that he was very tense."
Asif Luger, 21, from Kibbutz Yagur, was a soldier in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade, who fell during a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
Asif's father described him as a gentle and mature person, who had a love for music and people.
IDF soldiers were killed, wounded in anti-tank missile attack
On Tuesday morning, anti-tank fire hit a Namer armored personnel carrier in the northern Gaza Strip, killing seven Givati Brigade soldiers and seriously injuring four more.
On Tuesday evening, it was announced that Staff-Sgt. Roei Wolf and Staff-Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz were killed amid clashes in the northern Gaza Strip as well.
In total, over 320 IDF soldiers have been killed since Hamas launched its assault on Israel on October 7.