Israelis came out Sunday throughout the country for eleven funerals of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who were killed in Gaza over the weekend. The soldiers died in three separate incidents Saturday, the deadliest of which was a blast in Rafah, southern Gaza, where eight soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion were killed. Among the fallen was Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud, whose funeral in the Druze village of Beit Jann prompted the community to delay their Eid al-Adha celebrations in order to mourn.
Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud is remembered as a dedicated soldier who returned to battle despite being previously wounded. The Druze leader Sheikh Muakfak Tarif eulogized him saying that the Druze community carries the “burden of service, and everything that comes with it, including the painful parts.”
This event marks the deadliest incident for the IDF in the Strip since January. The IDF identified one of the soldiers as 23-year-old Captain Wassem Mahmoud, a deputy company commander in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion, from Beit Jann. The families of the other seven soldiers have been notified.
Initial IDF investigations suggest that the soldiers were killed inside a Namer armored combat engineering vehicle (CEV) while traveling in a convoy following an overnight offensive against Hamas in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood. The convoy, part of the 401st Armored Brigade, had just completed an operation that reportedly resulted in the deaths of around 50 Hamas gunmen. At approximately 5 a.m., the Namer CEV, the fifth or sixth vehicle in the convoy, was struck by a massive explosion. The blast’s origin is under investigation, with possibilities including a pre-planted bomb or an explosive device directly placed on the vehicle by Hamas operatives.
The incident did not involve any gunfire, and the vehicle was in motion at the time of the explosion. The IDF is also investigating whether the stored explosives on the CEV contributed to the blast. The explosion was so powerful that it took two hours before IDF forces could safely approach and evacuate the damaged vehicle.
Sgt. Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, a 21-year-old who moved to Israel from the United States as a child, was laid to rest in Jerusalem. Sgt. Itay Amar, another victim of the Rafah blast, was honored for his joyful spirit, and a video of him dancing with a friend who had been kidnapped on October 7th was a poignant memory that was shared during his funeral.
Staff Sgt. Stanislav Kostarev, Staff Sgt. Oz Yeshaya Gruber, Staff Sgt. Orr Blumovitz, and Sgt. Yakir Ya’akov Levi, were also commemorated across Israel. These brave individuals, some remembered for their academic pursuits and others for their unwavering commitment to the IDF, were buried with heartfelt tributes from their families, friends, and commanders.
The names of the final two soldiers who were killed in the Saturday incident are expected to be released soon.
The IDF announced the death of a soldier who succumbed to wounds sustained on Monday while fighting in Rafah. His death brings the military death toll since the start of the ground operation in Gaza to 308
The IDF named him as 19-year-old Sergeant Yair Roitman of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit from Karnei Shomron.
Roitman was wounded in an explosion in a booby-trapped building on June 10, in which it killed four other soldiers and wounded six others, four seriously.
The IDF has also announced the deaths of two soldiers, who both served in the 8th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 129 Battalion, who were killed while fighting in northern Gaza over the weekend:
Cpt. (res.) Eitan Koplovich, 28, from Jerusalem.
Warrant Officer (res.) Elon Weiss, 49, from Psagot.
According to an initial IDF investigation, the two soldiers were killed by an explosive device which detonated against their tank.
Another two soldiers in the tank were seriously wounded in the same incident.
