On October 24 and 25, the Israel Defense Forces released the names of 13 Israeli soldiers who lost their lives during several days of combat. Ten of these soldiers were killed during confrontations in southern Lebanon, while three were slain in Gaza.
These fatalities occurred against the backdrop of ongoing Hezbollah rocket attacks, which resulted in the deaths of two Israeli civilians in the town of Majd al-Krum on October 25.
The recent casualties add to Israel’s significant losses as it fights on two fronts. Just days before, Israeli Major General Ahsan Daksa, who led the 401st Armored Brigade, was killed in the conflict in Gaza. These losses underscore the formidable challenges Israel faces and the lethal capabilities still held by Hamas and Hezbollah.
The IDF’s casualties in Lebanon impacted two of its brigades. According to the IDF’s announcement on October 24, four soldiers from the 2nd Carmeli Reserve Infantry Brigade were killed in their encounters with Hezbollah. The military also confirmed that a member of the elite Oketz Unit, responsible for counter-terrorism operations alongside dogs, was killed in Lebanon. Additionally, on October 25, the IDF reported that five soldiers from the 8th Armored Reserve Brigade, known as “hazaken” or the “old one,” had also died in Lebanon. Later that same day, the military revealed that three soldiers from a tank commander’s course in the 460th Brigade were killed in northern Gaza.
These deaths were part of a broader context where many other soldiers were reported injured in Lebanon, including personnel from the Paratroopers Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade. “The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment; their families have been notified,” stated the IDF. The military did not elaborate on the specific circumstances surrounding the deaths and injuries, nor did it specify the locations of these incidents. However, the casualties represent one of the highest tolls recorded in a 48-hour timeframe since the ground operation against Hezbollah commenced on October 1, when seven soldiers were killed in a single engagement on the operation’s first day.
The soldiers’ names are:
Gaza:
– Sgt. Hillel Ovadia, 22, from Yerushalayim, 460th Armored Brigade’s 196th Battalion
– Cpt. Barak Israel Sagan, 22, from Petach Tikva, 460th Armored Brigade’s 196th Battalion
– Sgt. Ido Ben Zvi, 21, from Shomrat, 460th Armored Brigade’s 196th Battalion
Lebanon:
– Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shmuel Harari, 35, from Tzefas, Carmeli Brigade’s 222nd Battalion
– Master Sgt. (res.) Shlomo Aviad Nayman, 31, from Mitzpeh Yericho, Carmeli Brigade’s 222nd Battalion
– Master Sgt. (res.) Tom Segal, 28, from Ein Habesor, 8th Armored Brigade’s 89th Battalion
– Sgt. First Class (res.) Shuvael Ben-Natan, 22, from Rechalim, Carmeli Brigade’s 222nd
– Sgt. First Class Gai Ben-Harush, 23, from Pardes Chana-Karkur, commander in the Oketz canine unit
– Warrant Officer (res.) Mordechai Chaim Amoyal, 42, from Lod, Carmeli Brigade’s 222nd Battalion
– Maj. (res.) Dan Maori, 43, from Beit Yitzchok-Sha’ar Hefer, deputy commander of the 8th Armored Brigade’s 89th Battalion
– Cpt. (res.) Alon Safrai, 28, from Yerushalayim, 8th Armored Brigade’s 89th Battalion.
– Warrant Officer (res.) Omri Lotan, 47, from Bat Chefer, 8th Armored Brigade’s 89th Battalion.
– Warrant Officer (res.) Guy Idan, 51, from Shomrat, 8th Armored Brigade’s 89th Battalion.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari provided an overview of the recent Israeli operations in southern Lebanon. He noted that near Labbouneh, close to the Israeli border along the Mediterranean, Hezbollah had “built an underground network of combat zones where it stored various weapons.” Over the past month of fighting, the IDF has focused on clearing this area. Furthermore, Hagari mentioned that in Mhaibib, located further east near the Israeli community of Yiftach, Hezbollah had constructed an underground command center. “In the past month alone, we have struck more than 3,200 targets in southern Lebanon, including approximately 350 weapons storage facilities,” he reported. Additionally, he highlighted that Israel had “seized more than 3,200 explosives and approximately 2,500 anti-tank missiles, RPGs, launchers, and Kornet missiles.”
Fighting in Lebanon persisted on October 25, with the IDF announcing strikes on an additional 200 targets between October 24 and 25. One of these strikes successfully eliminated “Abbas Adnan Moslem, the Commander of the Aitaroun area in Hezbollah’s Radwan unit,” as stated by the IDF. In another action, the Israeli Air Force targeted a Hezbollah drone unit.
During a visit to Israeli forces in Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi remarked on October 24 that “in the north, there’s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion. We thoroughly dismantled Hezbollah’s senior chain of command.” This optimistic assessment was made while he visited the 162nd Division operating in Jabaliya, a northern Gaza area. Halevi met with Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, who leads the division.
Halevi commended the soldiers for their efforts in the recent fighting in Jabaliya and observed that the IDF had strengthened its presence in the region during the recent Yom Tov.
“Determination and persistence—that’s the key. Now, they [the enemy] are determined too, but we are much more. Because we are better, we are more justified, and also because we are stronger. Another achievement—Jabaliya is falling, this is another psychological collapse,” Halevi asserted. He expressed that increasing pressure on Hamas would lead Israel to “more achievements” and mentioned the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, though he did not provide a specific assessment of how this might impact the ongoing war in Gaza.
{Matzav.com Israel}
