IDF announces Maj. (res.) Itamar Levin Fridman fell in combat in northern Gaza

Major (Res.) Itamar Levin Fridman, 34, from Eilat, from the special counter-terror LOTAR Unit, fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the IDF announced.

Maj. Fridman was in combat in Jabalya under the command of the Givati Brigade's combat team and fell after an anti-tank missile was fired at the force. Two other soldiers were also injured in the incident.

The Eilat municipality stated, "The city of Eilat bows its head and participates in the family's deep sorrow for the death of the late Major Itamar Levin Fridman."

Fridman is a member of an "old Eilat family," according to the municipality. He is Alma's husband and the father of two children.

"He was an 11th-grade teacher at Goldwater High School, where he also studied, a gifted math teacher, and IDF preparation coordinator at the school," the municipality said. "Before that, he worked for 8 years preparing students for psychometrics."

"He was smart and witty, attentive and loved by his students, a valued teacher, educator, a family man, and a fighter who defended his country and sacrificed his life for it as a warrior and as a hero," the municipality continued.

IDF in Jabalya

About five days ago, the IDF said that they estimated that Hamas in the Jabalya refugee camp was on the verge of collapse.

An analysis of the IDF's activities revealed that the army has implemented the "generals plan" in recent days, and in practice, it has removed most of the population from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south and is preventing the entry of humanitarian aid to the Jabalya refugee camp, where several hundred Hamas terrorists who have not yet been subdued or eliminated are concentrated.

The IDF has so far reportedly eliminated 1,000 terrorists and captured another 700.