Soldiers from the 401st Brigade have been operating in recent days against the Tel al-Sultan Battalion in the Rafah area under the command of the 162nd Division. The soldiers of the brigade are destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating dozens of armed terrorists in above and below ground encounters, in precise, intelligence-based, targeted operations.
During the operations, the soldiers of the 932nd Battalion encountered three armed terrorists. At the direction of the soldiers in the field and the brigade’s Fire Control Center, an IAF aircraft killed the terrorists.
Immediately after, the troops raided and cleared the buildings from which the terrorists departed.
The soldiers killed terrorists who fired rockets and mortar shells at the troops. In addition, they located grenades, arms, and short-range anti-tank missiles.
During the operations of the troops in the area, eight soldiers from 601st Battalion fell, Captain Wassem Mahmoud z"l, Sergeant Yakir Ya'akov Levi z"l, Sergeant Itay Amar z"l, Sergeant Elyahu Moshe Zimbalist z"l, Staff Sergeant Oz Yeshaia Gruber z"l, Staff Sergeant Orr Blumovitz z"l, Staff Sergeant Stanislav Kostarev z"l and Sergeant Shalom Menachem z"l.
These soldiers led the force and fought bravely. The IDF stated that it shares the grief of the bereaved families and will continue to accompany them.