IDF soldier killed in car crash during military activity in Golan Heights

An Israeli soldier was killed Thursday night in a car crash during operational activity in the Golan Heights, the military announced Friday.

The soldier was named as Sgt. Niv Dayag, 19, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion, from Ramat Hasharon.

Three other soldiers were lightly injured in the crash on the Route 98 highway near Ramat Magshimim in the southern Golan Heights, the military and medics said.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it treated the four soldiers at the scene, and paramedics declared Dayag dead after performing resuscitation efforts.

According to first responders, the army jeep that the soldiers were in hit a guardrail, flipped over, and caught fire. The military said the incident was under further investigation.

A panel of experts has been appointed by the chief of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, and chief of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, to investigate the deadly crash. The team will be headed by Col. Nadav Maisles, the commander of the Yiftah Brigade.

It was the second death of a soldier in a car crash in two days. On Wednesday, Sgt. Shimon Tubol, a soldier from the Hasmonean Brigade, was killed in a crash on Route 457 in the northern West Bank while on leave. The Hasmonean Brigade is a new brigade formed to draft Haredi soldiers, and Tubol’s death is its first casualty, though he wasn’t on active duty at the time of his death.

Since December, Israel has bolstered its presence in the Golan Heights, including moving forces into the UN-monitored demilitarized zone on the Syrian side of the mountain range.

The IDF has described its presence in southern Syria’s buffer zone as a temporary and defensive measure, although Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that troops will remain deployed to nine posts in the area “indefinitely.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.