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  6.  » Four soldiers killed fighting in southern Gaza as war on Hamas hits six-month mark

From left to right, This combination of photos shows Cpt. Ido Baruch, Sgt. Amitai Even Shoshan, Sgt. Ilai Zair and Sgt. Reef Harush, who the army said were killed fighting against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip on April 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Emanuel Fabian – Times of Israel Apr 7, 2024

The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday the deaths of four soldiers during fighting against the Palestinian terror group Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip the day before.

Their deaths came as the IDF marked six months since the war on Hamas began with the terror group’s massive October attack on Israel.

The four soldiers were named as:

Cpt. Ido Baruch, 21, a commander at the Commando Brigade’s training base, from Tel Mond.

Sgt. Amitai Even Shoshan, 20, of the Commando Brigade’s training base, from Azri’el.

Sgt. Ilai Zair, 20, of the Commando Brigade’s training base, from Kedar.

Sgt. Reef Harush, 20, of the Commando Brigade’s training base, from Kibbutz Ramat David.

Their deaths brought the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 260.

The four were killed Saturday when gunmen came out of a tunnel in a destroyed building and opened fire at troops carrying out a patrol along the IDF’s logistics route in Khan Younis, according to an initial military probe. The operatives apparently managed to flee back into the tunnel.

Soldiers who tried to pursue the attackers noticed that the escape route was booby-trapped and therefore held back.

A tank came under RPG fire from another cell in the area, though there were no injuries in that attack. The tank returned fire, killing members of the second cell, according to the IDF’s probe.

Hamas is known to have dug hundreds of kilometers of tunnels under Gaza as part of its military infrastructure.

Also Saturday, two soldiers of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion were seriously wounded in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF said.

The troops were injured in an accident involving a tank shell that exploded inside the vehicle, according to an initial IDF probe.

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