Person killed in Gaza anti-tank missile attack is a soldier, Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib

The Israel Defense Forces says the person who was killed in an anti-tank guided missile attack earlier today was a soldier from the Nahal Infantry Brigade, Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib.

Tabib, 21, was taking part in security operations around the community of Netiv Ha’asara to protect it from potential infiltration attacks by terrorists from the Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesperson Hidai Zilberman says.

Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, 21, from the Nahal Infantry Brigade, who was killed when an anti-tank guided missile struck his jeep north of the Gaza Strip on May 12, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)

He, an officer and another soldier were in a jeep inside Netiv Ha’asara, which lies on a hill overlooking the northern Gaza border, when it was hit by the missile. The officer was seriously injured and the other soldier was moderately wounded.

As it was on a hill, the jeep was vulnerable to attack from anti-tank missiles, Zilberman says.

It is not immediately clear what precise type of missile was used in the attack. The military initially barred publication of Tabib’s name until his family could be notified of his death.