An IDF soldier was killed in a Hamas sniper attack in Gaza City on Wednesday, the military announced on Thursday morning.

The slain troop was named as Staff Sgt. Chalachew Shimon Demalash, 21, of the Nahal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion, from Beersheba.

According to an initial IDF probe, Demalash was manning a guard post at an army encampment when he came under sniper fire.

Demalash is survived by his parents.

Defense Minister Israel Katz tweeted his “deep condolences” to the family, saying the State of Israel “honors his bravery and embraces the family in these tough moments.”

A volunteer who met Demalash, Avi Even Chaim, described him to Haaretz as “a brave, modest soldier with a big smile and a huge heart.”

“Chalachew exhibited strength alongside a rare goodheartedness; he connected with everyone, loved his friends, and always volunteered first to stay behind and stand on the frontlines,” Even Chaim said.

His death brought the IDF’s toll in its new Gaza City offensive to two, while Israel’s toll in the war against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 471. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.

Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike on a home where displaced people had taken refuge in central Gaza killed at least 11 people on Thursday, the spokesperson for the Hamas-run civil defense told AFP.

Israel has intensified its offensive on the Strip in recent weeks, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee and get out of harm’s way as it seeks to end Hamas’s control of Gaza City.

“Eleven people were killed and many are missing or wounded after an Israeli airstrike targeted a house… which was sheltering displaced people north of Al-Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip,” civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal claimed, adding that several children were among those killed.

The toll cannot be independently verified, and there is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 65,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during and immediately after the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.