The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday evening that Sergeant Yaniv Michalovitch, 19, of Rechovot, was killed in action while fighting in the northern region of the Gaza Strip. He served in the 82nd Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade.
The same clash that claimed Sergeant Michalovitch’s life also left two members of his battalion—one a tank commander and the other a fellow soldier—critically wounded.
In a separate encounter in the same area, a soldier from the elite Egoz Unit of the Commando Brigade also sustained life-threatening injuries during fighting.
All of the injured soldiers were swiftly transported to the hospital for urgent medical care, and their families have been informed.
Rechovot Mayor Matan Dil mourned the loss of the young soldier, saying, “The heart refuses to believe. A week after Rehovot lost its citizen, Staff Sergeant Ronel Ben-Moshe – yet more bitter news is knocking on our door. Yaniv left behind his parents and two brothers. I hug you, and together with all the residents of Rehovot, I feel your immense pain.”
{Matzav.com Israel}