14 Days: Fallen Fighters

FALLEN FIGHTERS

On June 10, as the IDF war against Hamas raged on, five soldiers were killed when a booby-trapped building they entered collapsed in Rafah in southern Gaza: Maj. Tal Pshebilski Shaulov, 24; Sgt. Yair Levin, 20; Sgt. Almog Shalom, 19; Sgt. Yair Roitman, 19 and St.-Sgt. Eitan Karlsbrun, 20.

On June 15, eight soldiers were killed when their armored vehicle was struck in Rafah: Capt. Wassem Mahmoud, 23; Sgt. Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, 21; Sgt. Itay Amar, 19; Sgt. Stanislav Kostarev, 21; Sgt. Orr Blumovitz, 20; Sgt. Oz Yeshaya Gruber, 20; Sgt. Yakir Ya’akov Levi, 21; and Sgt. Shalom Menachem, 21. Two reservists were killed when their tank was attacked in northern Gaza: Cpt. (res.) Eitan Koplovich, 28; and Warrant Officer (res.) Alon Wiess, 49. Another soldier, St.-Sgt. Tzur Abraham, 22, was killed in southern Gaza.

On June 20, two soldiers were killed in a mortar attack in central Gaza: Sgt. First Class (res.) Omer Smadga, 25, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Saadia Yaakov Derai, 27. On June 22, Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Malkia Gross, 25, was killed in southern Gaza, taking the IDF fatality toll in the ground operation to 315.

NORTHERN TENSION

Hezbollah launched more than 250 rockets, missiles, and drones at northern Israel on June 12, coinciding with Shavuot, in what it said was a response to the killing of a senior commander Taleb Abdullah and two other Hezbollah members in an Israeli airstrike a night earlier. The IDF, which has killed more than 320 Hezbollah fighters since October 7, said most rockets fell in open areas, causing a series of massive fires and extensive damage, while some were intercepted.

The barrage was the largest attack carried out by Hezbollah since the Hamas massacre on October 7. Abdullah was the most senior Hezbollah commander killed to date. As Muslims celebrated Eid al-Adha, US special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to avert a further escalation.

TERRORIST ATTACK

Amnon Muchtar, 67, a father of five from Petah Tikva, was fatally shot in his vehicle while visiting the West Bank city of Kalkilya on June 22. The IDF deployed a large force to the Palestinian city to investigage the incident, which it said appeared to have been a terrorist attack.

GANTZ BOLTS

Ministers-without-portfolio Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Chili Tropper resigned on June 9 from the government, calling for elections to be held in the fall. Their departure, which leaves the coalition with a majority of 64 in the 120-seat Knesset, came a day after Gantz’s deadline to leave the coalition which he set in mid-May, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announce “a plan of action” for Gaza.

“Unfortunately, Netanyahu is preventing us from moving forward to a real victory,” Gantz said. “And so today we are leaving the emergency government with a heavy heart, but with our whole heart.” The National Unity Party entered the government at the start of the war, with Gantz and Eisenkot, both former IDF chiefs, becoming members of the war cabinet. Following their departure, Netanyahu disbanded the war cabinet.

ROSENFELD RESIGNS

Brig.-Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, the head of the IDF’s Gaza Division, announced on June 9 that he would resign from his position after 30 years of military service. “I failed in my life’s mission to protect the Gaza border communities,” Rosenfeld said. “Everyone has to take responsibility for their part.” Despite the resignation, Rosenfeld pledged to fulfill his duties until his replacement assumes command. Meanwhile, the IDF announced that it would present the findings of its investigation into the October 7 massacre in July and August.

HAREDI DRAFT

The Knesset voted 63-57 early on June 11 in favor of a bill, in its first reading, that would codify the role of the ultra-Orthodox in the IDF. Among those who voted against it were Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) and National Unity leader Benny Gantz. The legislation must be approved by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee before it is passed into law in second and third readings. If approved, it would lower the current age of exemption from mandatory service for haredi yeshiva students from 26 to 21 and “very slowly” increase the rate of ultra-Orthodox conscription.

LOD TREASURE

Evidence was uncovered in an excavation in the center of Lod of the last Jewish resistance against Roman rule some 1,650 years ago. The findings were published ahead of the Central Israel Region Archaeological Conference at the Eretz Yisrael Museum in Tel Aviv on June 20. The excavation, led by the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the Lod Municipality, revealed a magnificent public building that suffered violent destruction, containing 94 silver and bronze coins from the time of the Gallus Revolt (351-354 CE), which had been placed there by Jewish rebels who hoped to collect them when the situation calmed down. “The find in the area proves that Lod is one of the oldest cities in the world,” said Lod Mayor Yair Revivo.