The IDF said Saturday that Lt. Ori Gerlic, 20, from the town of Meitar, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip when Israeli ordnance detonated near him during an assault on a Hamas target in Khan Younis.
Gerlic, a platoon commander in the Shimshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade, is the first Israeli soldier to be killed in Gaza in nearly a month. The army said the incident is under investigation.
According to military figures, 899 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began, including 454 during ground operations in Gaza. Another 6,204 have been wounded, among them 2,876 since the ground maneuver started. Thirteen soldiers are currently hospitalized in serious condition, 150 in moderate condition and three in light condition. The military said 74 soldiers have died in operational accidents in Gaza since the war began.
The battle unfolded in three locations and lasted between five and ten minutes, before the terrorists retreated. Pursuing forces, aided by drones directed by battalion and company commanders, killed about 10 fighters, including mortar teams providing cover for the attackers.
