Five Netzah Yehuda Soldiers Killed in Northern Gaza; IDF Death Toll Rises to 888 Since the start of the war,
Five IDF Soldiers Killed, 14 Wounded in Gaza Blast—Deadliest Incident Since Khan Yunis Attack
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday that five soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion were killed and 14 others wounded, including two in serious condition, when a powerful explosive device detonated in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza late Monday night.
The fallen soldiers are:
- Staff Sergeant Meir Shimon Amar, 20, from Jerusalem
- Sergeant Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, from Jerusalem
- Sergeant First Class (Res.) Benyamin Asulin, 28, from Haifa
- Staff Sergeant Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, from Jerusalem
- Staff Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, from Beit Shemesh
Their deaths bring the total number of IDF fallen since the outbreak of war to 888.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. Monday as troops from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion of the Kfir Brigade were conducting a foot patrol near tanks and engineering vehicles. The unit inadvertently entered a field rigged with explosives, triggering a deadly detonation. While attempting to evacuate the wounded, soldiers came under coordinated terrorist gunfire in what officials described as a deliberate ambush.
This marks the deadliest attack in Gaza since the Khan Yunis tragedy two weeks earlier, when an officer and six combat engineering soldiers were killed by a similar explosive device attack. Before that, the June 2024 Rafah incident claimed the lives of eight soldiers after an anti-tank missile struck their armored vehicle.
As the IDF continues its ground operations in Gaza, Monday’s attack is a stark reminder of the ongoing risks Israeli soldiers face in the fight against Hamas terror infrastructure.
The IDF says operations in Beit Hanoun will continue and that those responsible for the ambush “will be hunted and held accountable.”
