Soldiers who were killed in the incident
Soldiers who were killed in the incidentCourtesy of the families

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi conducted an initial investigation at the site of the building collapse in the Gaza Strip which killed 21 IDF soldiers.

According to the investigation, the forces were preparing and spreading out explosive charges to demolish buildings 600 meters west of the border with Israel.

19 of the soldiers who were killed were spread out in the two buildings, while they were in an advanced stage of the operation.

The charges were prepared in a rural area, near orchards, and as the soldiers prepared to exit the buildings to set off the charges, a group of Hamas terrorists came out of the orchards and fired RPGs at the two buildings which immediately collapsed as a result of the charges, approximately ten in each building, which were wired to each other.

At this point, according to the findings of the initial investigation, a terror cell came out of the orchard and fired at the buildings, which collapsed as a result of the charges that had been placed inside.

The force in the tank that was securing the troops identified the impact on the building, and the soldiers rotated the turret toward the cell, but the terrorists managed to fire an additional RPG at the tank, which killed the two soldiers who were in the turret. The terrorists were not eliminated and managed to flee.

The IDF Spokesperson on Tuesday released the names of the 21 soldiers who were killed in the incident:

- Sergeant Major (res.) Itamar Tal, 32, from Mesilot.

- Sergeant Major (res.) Adam Bismut, 35, from Karnei Shomron.

- Sergeant Major (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, 40, from Zichron Yaakov.

- Sergeant Major (res.) Zegeye Daniel Kasau, 38, from Yokneam Ilit.

- Sergeant Major (res.)Matan Lazar, 32, from Haifa.

- Sergeant first class (res.)Hadar Kapeluk, 23, from Mevo Beitar.

- Sergeant Major (res.)Sergey Gontmaherr, 37, from Ramat Gan.

- Sergeant first class (res.)Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, from Kiryat Arba.

- Sergeant first class (res.)Yuval Lopez, 27, from Alon Shvut.

- Master sergeant (res.)Yoav Levi, 29, from Yehud-Monosson.

- Sergeant first class (res.)Nicholas Berger, 22, from Jerusalem.

- Sergeant first class (res.)Cydrick Garin, 23, from Tel Aviv-Yafo.

- Sergeant Major (res.)Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur.

- Sergeant Major (res.)Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, from Rishon Lezion.

- Sergeant First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, from Rahat.

-Captain (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29, from Givatayim.

-Master Sergeant (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35, from Bnei Dekalim.

-Sergeant First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24, from Karnei Shomron.

-Captain (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, from Elazar.

-Sergeant First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24, from Rosh Ha'ayin.

-Sergeant major Mark Kononovich, 35, from Herzliya.