2LT International News

TEL AVIV, Israel – Around two dozen Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes against Hamas fighters on Monday afternoon around 4pm in al-Muasi in central Gaza.

Twenty-one reservists died when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired by Hamas forces on a building. According to the IDF, the grenade triggered explosions of munitions which had been taken into surrounding buildings by the soldiers. All of the buildings, which were adjacent, apparently collapsed causing the deaths of the Israeli soldiers. An IDF statement said the explosives were intended to be used to demolish the buildings of which there were about 10.

In addition, a separate rocket-propelled grenade was fired on an Israeli tank killing two soldiers and injuring 2 others. This grenade was fired just prior to the second one which targeted the buildings to be demolished.

The two incidents are under investigation. It is not clear whether the rocket-propelled grenade or the follow-on detonation of the explosives was responsible for the deaths of the soldiers in the second incident.

The names of ten of the soldiers who died have been released by the Israel Defense Forces. They were:

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, from Haifa, a soldier from the IDF’s 6261 Battalion, 261’s Brigade.

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, from Moshav Mevo Beitar, and was a Class Commander in the IDF’s 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, from Ramat Gan, who was a soldier in the IDF’s 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, from Kiryat Arba, was a soldier in the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

St.-Sgt. (res.) Yoval Lopez, 27, from the settlement Alon Shvut in the West Bank, a soldier in the 9206 Battalion, 205th Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, from the city Yehud-Monoson in central Israel, who was a soldier in Battalion 8208, 261st Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, from Jerusalem, who was a soldier in the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

Maj. (res.) Cydrick Garin, 23, from Tel Aviv-Yafo, who was a soldier in the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

St.-Sgt. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, from the town Pardes Hanna-Karkur near Haifa, who was a soldier in the 6261 Battalion, 261st Brigade.

St.-Sgt. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, from Rishon Lezion, class commander in Battalion 6261, Brigade 261.

The number of soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive which followed the horrific Hamas attacks on 7 October has now swelled about 200.

The number of soldiers killed since the Gaza ground offensive began has now risen to 221.

(File photo).