Three IDF troops were killed and an officer was seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the military announced.
The slain troops were named as:
Staff Sgt. Shoham Menahem, 21, from Yardena
Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem, 20, from Efrat
Sgt. Yuliy Faktor, 19, from Rishon Lezion
They all served with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion.
According to an initial IDF probe, the soldiers were in a tank that was hit by an explosion in northern Gaza’s Jabalia at around noon Monday.
The IDF initially suspected the tank was hit by Hamas RPG fire. However, in the hours following the incident, the military increasingly came to believe the explosion may have been caused by a malfunctioning shell that detonated inside the turret.
Other causes of the explosion were being investigated, the military said.
Their deaths raised the Israeli toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 454 soldiers. The figure includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
The announcement of the soldiers’ deaths came shortly before two rockets were launched from the central Gaza Strip at southern Israel, which the military intercepted.
Sirens did not sound in any towns, but alerts were activated in open areas near the Gaza border. There were no injuries.
In Gaza, meanwhile, footage circulated Monday on social media showing dozens of Palestinians lying on the ground as prolonged gunfire is heard around them.
Based on the location in the video, the incident appeared to have occurred near one of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution centers, specifically in the Rafah area.
The IDF stated that “the details of the video are under review. At this stage, there are no known casualties from IDF fire at the distribution center in Rafah today.”
GHF, an Israeli-backed US organization that seeks to circumvent Hamas in the distribution of aid, has faced harsh criticism from the UN and other aid organizations, which charge that it fails to meet the needs of Gaza’s population. Gazans have reported near-daily incidents in which groups trying to reach GHF facilities are shot at by Israeli forces, leading to mass casualties.
Israel, which accuses Hamas of hoarding aid, has also accused the terror group of attacking Gazan aid seekers near GHF sites and falsifying death tolls. However, Israel has also acknowledged that “several” Palestinian civilians have been killed near GHF aid distribution sites.
GHF commenced operations in May as Israel lifted a nearly three-month aid blockade on Gaza, amid a renewed offensive there that seeks to take over 75% of the Strip with the aim of defeating Hamas and securing the release of the hostages seized by the Palestinian terror group during its October 7, 2023, attack that started the ongoing war.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.