IDF announces deaths of 4 soldiers killed by explosive in Gaza City alleyway

Four Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting against Hamas in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood this morning, the military announces.

The troops are named as:

Sgt. Itay Livny, 19, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Ramat Hasharon.

Sgt. Yosef Dassa, 19, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Kiryat Bialik.

Sgt. Ermiyas Mekuriyaw, 19, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Beersheba.

Sgt. Daniel Levy, 19, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Kiryat Motzkin

Another officer and soldier of the 931st Battalion were seriously wounded in the same incident.

According to an initial IDF probe, the four soldiers were killed by an explosive device or devices in an alleyway.

The troops had been raiding a school complex where the military had indications of Hamas activity. Weaponry and at least one tunnel were discovered in the area of the school.

The IDF has returned several times to the Zeitun neighborhood since the war’s outbreak, as Hamas has managed to regroup in areas previously cleared by the army.

Their deaths bring the toll of slain troops in the IDF’s ground offensive in Gaza and amid operations on the border to 271.

Separately, another two soldiers of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion were seriously wounded by RPG fire on a tank in the Rafah area of southern Gaza.