Master Sergeant (Res.) Alon Farkas, 27, from Kabri, was killed in action during a battle in northern Gaza, the IDF confirmed Wednesday. Farkas served in the 6646th Reconnaissance Battalion of the 646th Brigade.
The confrontation that claimed Farkas’s life also left another reservist from the same battalion critically wounded. The injured soldier was quickly transported to a hospital for urgent care, and his family has been informed of his condition.
In a separate encounter in Gaza, a Hamas drone dropped an explosive device on a group of soldiers operating in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. As a result, two members of the elite Yahalom Unit sustained moderate injuries, and a Shin Bet officer suffered light wounds.
On Tuesday, the IDF released the names of three soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s 9th Battalion who lost their lives during clashes in northern Gaza: Staff Sergeant Lior Steinberg, Staff Sergeant Ofek Barhana, and Staff Sergeant Omer Van Gelder.
Steinberg, 20, from Petach Tikva, and Barhana, 20, from Yavne, both served as combat medics. Van Gelder, 22, from Ma’ale Adumim, held the position of squad commander.
Two other troops were moderately hurt in the same incident that resulted in the deaths of the three soldiers.
As of now, the total number of IDF soldiers killed since the war began stands at 861.
{Matzav.com Israel}