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)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Their deaths came as the IDF marked six months since the war on Hamas began with the terror group\u2019s massive October attack on Israel.<\/p>\n
The four soldiers were named as:<\/p>\n
Cpt. Ido Baruch, 21, a commander at the Commando Brigade\u2019s training base, from Tel Mond.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Amitai Even Shoshan, 20, of the Commando Brigade\u2019s training base, from Azri\u2019el.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Ilai Zair, 20, of the Commando Brigade\u2019s training base, from Kedar.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Reef Harush, 20, of the Commando Brigade\u2019s training base, from Kibbutz Ramat David.<\/p>\n
Their deaths brought the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 260.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s logistics route in Khan Younis, according to an initial military probe. The operatives apparently managed to flee back into the tunnel.<\/p>\n
Soldiers who tried to pursue the attackers noticed that the escape route was booby-trapped and therefore held back.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n
Hamas is known to have dug hundreds of kilometers of tunnels under Gaza as part of its military infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Also Saturday, two soldiers of the 401st Armored Brigade\u2019s 46th Battalion were seriously wounded in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF said.<\/p>\n
The troops were injured in an accident involving a tank shell that exploded inside the vehicle, according to an initial IDF probe.<\/p>\n