IDF Staff Sgt. Danilo Mocanu falls in battle in southern Gaza Strip

The IDF cleared for publication on Wednesday morning that Staff Sgt. Danilo Mocanu, 20, from Holon, a fighter in the 51st Company in the 82nd Battalion of the 7th Brigade, fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip.

Danilo is the 858th fallen soldier since the beginning of Operation Iron Swords, and the second casualty since the IDF began expanding the ground operation.

The soldiers were operating in eastern Khan Younis as part of the expanded ground incursion under Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

Yesterday afternoon, the troops entered a four-story building that had been booby-trapped. The force of the explosion caused the structure to collapse on the soldiers inside. Staff Sgt. Danilo was killed and trapped under the rubble, and another soldier was rescued with minor injuries.

The incident occurred during operations of the 7th Brigade in Khan Younis, where a force from the 51st Company in the 82nd Battalion was scanning buildings in the eastern neighborhood of the city. The IDF is investigating whether the explosive was detonated remotely or if a hidden activation mechanism had been embedded inside the building.

The rescue efforts lasted for many hours, during which engineering equipment was brought in to remove the collapsed debris. Eventually, the teams reached Danilo, but medical personnel were forced to declare his death.

Earlier this week, the IDF announced the death of Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Hirak, 22, from the community of Harasha, a soldier in the 401st "Iron Tracks" Brigade, in the northern Gaza Strip. Yesterday, the IDF released a preliminary investigation stating that Yosef Yehuda was killed by friendly fire.

According to the initial findings, yesterday afternoon a unit entered the area and located a tunnel shaft. The unit began exploratory operations inside the shaft to link up with the tunnel for demolition. During this time, another company was providing security.

Yosef Yehuda is survived by his wife Emuna – whom he had married just seven months ago – his parents, and three sisters. He was the son-in-law of Yehuda Eliyahu, director of the Settlement Directorate at Israel’s Ministry of Defense.