Three soldiers killed in northern Gaza explosion yesterday

Three Israeli soldiers were killed and two were wounded by an explosive device during operations in northern Gaza’s Jabalia yesterday evening, the military announces.

The slain soldiers are named as:

Staff Sgt. Lior Steinberg, 20, a combat medic, from Petah Tikva.

Staff Sgt. Ofek Barhana, 20, a combat medic, from Yavne.

Staff Sgt. Omer Van Gelder, 22, a squad commander, from Maale Adumim.

The troops all served in the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion. During the incident in Jabalia, they were operating in a platoon under the 9th Armored Battalion.

According to an initial IDF probe, the five troops were in a Humvee in Jabalia when they were hit by an explosive device planted there by terror operatives.

The other two wounded troops are listed in moderate condition.

The soldiers in the Humvee had been escorting an army fire engine that had entered Gaza to extinguish an armored personnel carrier that caught fire due to unclear circumstances, according to the probe. On the way out of Jabalia, the convoy was hit by several explosive devices, one of which directly hit the Humvee, killing and wounding the soldiers. Further details are under investigation by the IDF.

Their deaths bring Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 423. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.