Five IDF soldiers killed, eight wounded in operational accident in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun

Five soldiers from Israel's elite Nahal Brigade were killed and ten others seriously wounded from an explosion in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza.

The tragic event occurred during operational activity, in which engineering ammunition exploded in the building where the soldiers were preparing for a mission, according to preliminary reports. 

The incident marks one of the deadliest single events for the Israeli army in recent operations in Gaza. 

The fallen IDF solders are: Cpt. Yair Yaakov Shoshen, 23, from Ma'alot-Tarshiha; Sgt. Yehav Hadar, 20, from Kfar Tavor; Sgt. Guy Carmiel, 20, from Gedera; Sgt. Yoav Feffer, 19, from Herzliya; and Sgt. Aviel Wiseman, 20, from Poriya Illit. 

The soldiers were all serving with the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit, and had just begun a mission in Beit Hanoun. While inside the building, they were preparing explosives for an engineering activity, when the explosives detonated prematurely, causing the building to collapse on them. 

All the fighters killed or injured in the explosion belong to the same team in the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit, called Z1. The group of 17 fighters all finished their course two months before the October 7 Hamas invasion. 

Following months of difficult combat training, the team was initially sent to Rafah. Following missions there, they were transferred to Beit Hanoun, where they were serving up until the explosion on Monday morning. 

The accident raises the number of IDF soldiers killed in Beit Hanoun during the present operation to 16. The number of soldiers killed in the IDF's current operation in the northern Gaza Strip, which started in October now stands at 55. 

The total IDF military casualties since October 7 now stand at 840, with 405 soldiers killed during ground operations in Gaza.

Following the announcement of the soldiers’ death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a message of condolence to X. 

“A difficult and sad day. On behalf of the citizens of Israel, I send my deepest condolences to the families of the five IDF heroes who fell today in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu wrote. 

“They gave their lives for the security of our country, and the entire people of Israel embrace you and your families in your pain. We pray for the healing of all the injured. May the memory of our heroes be blessed and cherished in our hearts always.” 

President Isaac Herzog also expressed sorrow at the deaths of the soldiers, writing, “We will not forget them and all our heroic sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for the people and the country in the difficult war to defend the country, its settlements and residents. May their memory be blessed and cherished in our hearts forever.”