Nir Hadad, who was wounded in July, succumbed to his wounds

The IDF cleared for publication on Sunday that Sergeant First Class (Res.) Nir Hadad, aged 28, from Petah Tikva, a soldier in the 129th Battalion, 8th Brigade, succumbed to his wounds after being severely injured in June during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.

Hadad was injured on June 15 from a charge activated against his tank in their area of Netzarim. Captain Eitan Koplovich z"l and Warrant officer (res.) Elon Waiss z"l were killed in the same incident.

Hadad was evacuated while conscious, but suffered from smoke inhalation and his condition deteriorated. He was hospitalized and last week underwent surgery which was supposed to improve his condition, but on Rosh Hashanah his condition worsened again and he passed away.

Rabbi Re’em HaCohen, head of the Otniel Yeshiva, spoke to Arutz Sheva – Israel National News and eulogized his student Nir Hadad: "Nir, my student, was an innocent, simple man. Our world is very complicated, but there are souls that God sends into the world who are simple, innocent, they don't like the complicated world, they want to live in a simple world."

He added: "Nir returned his soul to his creator around Rosh Hashanah. This is not by chance, because his world was the world of a perfect man who feared God. He acted innocently, his soul lived in a simple world. That’s why he passed from the world during the holiness of Rosh Hashanah, out of the higher sanctity of Shabbat."

He added, "Nir lived in Bnei Brak. His father died when he was young. His mother raised him. In the army, he was the driver of Captain Eitan Koplovich z”l, and for the past four months his lungs were damaged by smoke. We prayed that he would be able to breathe, but he returned his soul to the Creator of the world."

The IDF also announced that an IDF officer from the 'Shaked' Battalion (424th) of the Givati Brigade was severely injured earlier in the day during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.

In a separate incident, two IDF soldiers from the 932nd Battalion of the Nahal Brigade were severely injured during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.

The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment. Their families have been notified.