IDF finds fallen officer Daniel Perez’s assault rifle in booby-trapped site in northern Gaza

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

An assault rifle that belonged to Cpt. Daniel Perez, which was located in northern Gaza, in a handout photo published on December 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
An assault rifle that belonged to Cpt. Daniel Perez, which was located in northern Gaza, in a handout photo published on December 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip located an assault rifle that belonged to Cpt. Daniel Perez, who was killed and abducted during the October 7, 2023, onslaught; his body was returned to Israel some two months ago.

The M-16 was found by reservists of the Carmeli Brigade at a booby-trapped site in the Strip’s north, following intelligence indicating that the weapon was stored there, the military says.

Perez was stationed near the Gaza border on the morning of October 7, and he and his tank crew fought for hours against the Hamas invasion, until he was killed, alongside Sgt. Tomer Leibovitz and Staff Sgt. Itay Chen.

The bodies of Perez and Chen were taken captive to Gaza, while their comrade Matan Angrest was abducted alive.

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