Five IDF soldiers killed in an explosive device blast in northern Gaza

The IDF Spokesperson today (Tuesday) released for publication the names of the fallen:

• Staff Sergeant Meir Shimon Amar, 20, from Jerusalem

• Sergeant Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, from Jerusalem

• Staff Sergeant Noam Aharon Mussagdian, 20, from Jerusalem

• Reserve Sergeant-Major Binyamin Asulin, 28, from Haifa

• Staff Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, from Beit Shemesh

They were killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip. This brings the number of fallen soldiers since the beginning of the war to 888.

The five soldiers, from the Netzach Yehuda Battalion and the Northern Brigade, were killed after encountering explosive devices on a main route in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza. Fourteen other soldiers were injured to varying degrees, including two in serious condition.

On Saturday night, the IDF launched an operation in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, a city that has been captured multiple times during the fighting. Two brigades are participating in the operation: Brigade 646 (a reserve paratrooper force) and the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division. The goal is to clear the northern perimeter adjacent to Sderot and Kibbutz Nir Am.

Last night, around 10:00 p.m., a force of soldiers from Battalion 97 (“Netzach Yehuda”), operating under the Northern Brigade, crossed a main route in Beit Hanoun on foot and triggered two explosive devices. During evacuation attempts of the wounded, the force came under fire from terrorists who were ambushing them.

The IDF stated that the area had been attacked from the air in recent days as part of preparations for the ground maneuver, but it is currently unclear how the force triggered the explosive devices and whether terrorists had prepared the area in recent days. It is assessed that the explosives were activated remotely.

Sergeant Asaf Zamir, 19, from Dimona, an armored corps soldier in Battalion 53 of the "Barak" (188) Brigade, and Sergeant Yair Eliyahu, 19, from Azar, a combat engineering soldier in the Northern Brigade, were killed last week in the Gaza Strip.