IDF paratrooper Yair Nifousy was killed in battle against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, it was cleared for publication this evening (Thursday). 19 soldiers have fallen in battle since ground operations began in the northern Gaza Strip last week.
Staff Sgt. Nifousy, a 20-year-old resident of Adi, served in the Paratrooper’s 101st Battalion. He was seriously wounded in battle in northern Gaza Wednesday night and succumbed to his injuries today.
Another soldier from the 101st Battalion was also wounded in the same battle.
Earlier, it was announced that the Commander of the 188th Armoured Brigade's 53rd Battalion, Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, 33, from Yanuh-Jat, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip. Habaka is the highest-ranking officer to be killed since the beginning of the IDF's ground operation.
On the morning of Simchat Torah, October 7th, the day of Hamas' murderous surprise attack, Habaka received a message about a major incident on the Gaza border. Although his soldiers from the 188th Armoured Brigade's 53rd Battalion were in the Hebron area, he moved part of the force to Tze'elim in southern Israel.
The soldiers from the battalion supplied the forces in the field with machine guns, and six of their tanks joined the battles. The crews were distributed between Be'eri, Kfar Aza, and Nahal Oz. An additional force was sent to the Erez border crossing.
In Kibbutz Be'eri, there were fierce and bloody battles throughout the day. Habaka came to Be'eri with two tanks and joined a group of paratroopers. Together with the rest of the forces, they pushed back the Hamas terrorists and decided the battle. The Bithonistim movement said that Habaka's decision to disperse the tanks proved to be a bold and smart decision since his crews pushed back another wave of terrorists that broke through the Erez crossing and killed the terrorists at the border.