IDF helicopter crashes in Rafah killing two soldiers and wounding eight

An IDF helicopter crashed overnight on Tuesday in a still-unexplained accident in Rafah, killing two soldiers, including the lead pilot, and injuring seven soldiers on board.

Warr.-Ofc. (res.) Daniel Alloush, 37, from Tel Aviv, and Warr. Ofc. (res.) Tom Ish-Shalom, 38, from Ness Harim, both serving in Unit 669, were named as the soldiers killed in the crash.

Additionally, a female and male pilot, a mechanic from Squadron 123, a doctor, and a combat soldier in reserves serving in Unit 669 were seriously injured, and a combat doctor serving in Unit 669 and a mechanic from Squadron 123 in reserves were moderately wounded.

The female pilot was part of the crew that evacuated hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi from the Gaza Strip.

The accident occurred after midnight in an attempt to rescue a wounded Givati soldier in the field with Unit 669 forces, raising the total number of wounded from the connected incidents to eight.

The accident also occurred as the helicopter was close to the ground.

The IDF said that no enemy forces had hit the helicopter and that the reasons for the accident would be clarified in an ongoing probe.

By two a.m., all the wounded and injured had been evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

The IDF said that it performed hundreds of successful rescue missions in Gaza, having saved around 1,700 soldiers generally without incident until now.

National Unity leader MK Benny Gantz sent his condolences to the victims’ families in a post on X/Twitter.

“In this war, the Air Force and the Medical Corps managed to save the lives of hundreds of soldiers in daring and quick rescues, sometimes under fire,” he wrote.

He further noted that “the abilities demonstrated by Unit 669 and other units,” in addition to “the courage of the fighters and the medical teams,” reduced “the time spent rescuing the wounded and bringing them to the hospitals,” which saved many lives.

Later on Wednesday, Air Force Chief Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar and IDF Southern Commander Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman arrived at the site.

Bar said, “Last night, while performing a life-saving operation for a severely wounded soldier in the Gaza Strip, we lost two reservists, two of our best men, in the crash of an ‘Owl’ helicopter from Squadron 123 during the landing phase. In addition, eight fighters were injured, some of them very seriously,” adding that the ongoing project of rescuing wounded soldiers was crucial and would continue without pause.

Noa Marciano's captor assasinated

The military announced on Wednesday that it had killed a Hamas terrorist who took part in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Noa Marciano, whose body was found concealed and buried near Shifa Hospital in November 2023.

Marciano was one of the first Israelis found dead and returned to Israel. The Hamas terrorist, Abdullah Abu Rialah, was a member of the northern Gaza Shati brigade, involved in the October 7 kidnappings and in fighting against the IDF throughout the current war, eventually killed by an air strike coordinated by Shin Bet and IDF intelligence.

In the same statement about killing Abu Rialah, the IDF also noted the killing of an additional terrorist, Iman Khaled Ahmad Abu al-Yahni, involved in the October 7 massacre.

Yet another IDF statement noted the killing of multiple Hamas terrorists who were hiding at the al-Juani school in Nuseirat in central Gaza.

The IDF reiterated its message that Hamas is abusing civilian locations, such as schools and mosques, but that it will come after them anyway while trying to do so in careful ways that will not harm or reduce the harm to civilians nearby.

Despite the ongoing air strikes and low-level infantry activities, the level of IDF fighting against Hamas in Gaza has dropped significantly since Defense Minister Yoav Gallant proclaimed Hamas’s last battalion broken on August 21.

Gallant revealed on Wednesday that the now-deceased Hamas Khan Yunis Brigade Commander Rafah Salame wrote a letter in May, addressed to then Gaza Chief Yahya Sinwar, in which he pleaded for help and described how his forces were significantly damaged.

Salame wrote to Sinwar and his brother Muhammad Sinwar that 90-95% of his rockets were gone.

In addition, he stated that at least 50% of his forces were killed, 25% were wounded or fleeing, and while 25% remained to fight, even that 25% was starting to fall apart. Salame asked for reinforcements from Sinwar.

Gallant added that help never came from the Sinwar brothers since they were also fleeing from place to place to avoid being caught or killed, and later the IDF found the letter in one of Hamas’s headquarters.

On July 13, the IDF assassinated both Salame and Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif in an air strike near Khan Yunis after weeks of tracking the two.

Most of the Khan Yunis brigade was dismantled by early February.

Barrage in the North

In the North, the IDF announced that one reservist in Kibbutz Dan was seriously wounded during more than 60 Hezbollah missile attacks throughout Wednesday launched from Jibbain, Naqoura, Deir Seryan, and Zibqin.

According to reports by Israeli media, there was no alert, and a fire broke out as a result of the Dan hit. The Upper Galilee Regional Council stated that the man, aged 39, received initial medical treatment at the scene and was then taken to the hospital for further treatment.

Rambam Medical Center in Haifa said the patient was transferred via helicopter from Kibbutz Dan, suffering from chest contusions. He was last reported as conscious.

In response to the incident, Home Front Command issued new safety protocols for residents in evacuated areas of the North and some communities in the Northwestern Galilee.

These measures include reducing traffic, controlling community entrances, avoiding large gatherings, and staying near shelters.

The IDF targeted early Wednesday morning 30 missile launchers and military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the al-Jabin and a-Naqoura areas, as well as in a-Dhira, all in southern Lebanon.

On Wednesday afternoon, the military killed two Hezbollah terrorists in the Miss al Jabbal area in southern Lebanon, along with a weapons launcher that shot rockets from the Rimin area, along with another one in the Rachaya Al Foukhar area. The IDF also struck in Ayta ash Shab.

A few hours later, the IDF identified and struck a Hezbollah position in Shebaa.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.