IDF publishes names of 8 soldiers killed in Gaza operations

Two Israeli reservists, Captain Eitan Koplovich and Warrant Officer Elon Weiss, were killed in a tank attack in northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Their deaths bring the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in the ground offensive against Hamas to 311. Two other soldiers were also seriously injured in the tank attack.

In addition, the Israeli army announced the names of five engineers killed in an explosion in the southern Gaza Strip’s Rafah area. The soldiers were identified as Sergeant Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, Sergeant Itay Amar, Sergeant Stanislav Kostarev, Sergeant Or Blumovitz and Sergeant Oz Yeshaya Gruber. The explosion, which hit a Namer armored engineer tank, was the deadliest incident for the military in Gaza in six months.

Separately, Sergeant Yair Roitman, who was seriously injured in Rafah earlier this week, succumbed to his injuries.

The conflict in Gaza began on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claims over 37,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, although this figure has not been independently confirmed. Israel reports killing about 15,000 fighters.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and dismantle its military and governmental capabilities. Meanwhile, indirect negotiations are underway for an extended ceasefire and the release of 116 hostages still held by Hamas and the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in 2014.