14 Days: Fallen soldiers

FALLEN SOLDIERS 

Five IDF soldiers were killed in a “friendly fire” tragedy in Jabalya in northern Gaza on May 15: Cpt. Roy Beit Yaakov, 22; Sgt. Daniel Chemu, 20; Sgt. Ilan Cohen, 20; St.-Sgt. Gilad Arye Boim, 22; and St.-Sgt. Betzalel David Shashuah, 21. Maj. Gal Shabbat, 24, who was seriously wounded in  fighting in northern Gaza on May 15, died four days later. On May 17, Sgt. Ben Avishay, 20, was killed in combat in northern Gaza. On May 18, St.-Sgt. Nachman Meir Haim Vaknin, 20, and St.-Sgt. Noam Bittan, 20, were killed in combat in southern Gaza. On May 22, three soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza –  Master Sgt. (res.) Gideon Chay DeRowe, 33, Cpt. Israel Yudkin, 22. and St.-Sgt. Eliyahu Haim Emsallem, 21. On May 26, St.-Sgt. Sahar Sudaei, 20, was killed in battle in northern Gaza, while St.-Sgt. Betzalel Zvi Kovach, 20, who was wounded in northern Gaza on May 22, succumbed to his wounds.

NORTHERN FRONT 

Elad Fingerhut, 38, was killed and three soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah missile attack on an IDF position near Kibbutz Adamit on May 14. Fingerhut, a father of three, arrived at the scene to aid soldiers wounded by a Hezbollah missile and was fatally wounded by a second one. Later that day, an IAF aircraft killed Hezbollah field commander Hussain Ibrahim Mekky in Lebanon’s Tyre area. The IDF said he had been responsible for many attacks against Israeli civilians and homes.

BODIES RECOVERED 

The IDF announced on May 24 that it had recovered the bodies of three hostages from the northern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation. Orión Hernández Radoux, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59, were all killed on October 7, it said.  On May 18, the military  confirmed that it had recovered four bodies of hostages in an operation in northern Gaza: Ron Binyamin, 52, Amit Buskila, 28; Shani Louk, 22; and Itzik Gelernter, 58, all of whom had been at the Nova music festival.

ABDUCTION VIDEO 

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a harrowing three-minute video on May 22 of the abduction of five female IDF soldiers from the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza border by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, describing it as a “damning testament to the nation’s failure to bring home the hostages.” The video was filmed by body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists as they abducted Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, all five of whom are still being held in Gaza. “The world must look at this cruel atrocity,” President Isaac Herzog said. “Those who care about women’s rights must speak out. All those who believe in freedom must speak out, and do everything possible to bring all of the hostages home now.”

INTERNATIONAL COURTS 

The International Court of Justice ordered Israel on May 24 to “immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”  On May 20, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Kahn announced that he had asked the ICC in The Hague to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in the Gaza Strip. He also applied for arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh on charges of war crimes in Israel. A three-judge panel was slated to decide whether to issue the arrest warrants.

STATEHOOD RECOGNITION 

Spain, Norway, and Ireland announced on May 22 plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state. “Today, Ireland, Norway and Spain are announcing that we recognize the state of Palestine. Each of us will now undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision,” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said  in Dublin. In response, Israel recalled its ambassadors to the three countries and summoned their envoys, accusing them of handing out  “a reward to terrorism.”

IRANIAN CRASH 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian died in a helicopter crash on May 19, state media reported. Raisi was returning from the inauguration of a dam on Iran’s border with the Azerbaijan Republic when his helicopter crashed upon landing in northern Iran’s Varzaqan region, according to state news agency IRNA.

LABOR DOYENNE 

Yael Dayan, who served as a member of Knesset for the Labor party from 1992 to 2003, died on May 18 at 85 after a battle with lung disease. Dayan, the daughter of war hero Moshe Dayan, later represented Meretz on the Tel Aviv City Council and served as deputy mayor. She first made a name for herself as a journalist, and published five novels, as well as a memoir of the Six Day War and a book on Moshe Dayan, My Father, His Daughter. She is survived by two children and four grandchildren.” Yael fought her entire life for peace and human rights and loved Israel very much,” her family said in a statement. “Until the last moment, she never lost hope that we would still have a good, peaceful life here.”