President Isaac Herzog has expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of seven Israeli soldiers killed during combat in the southern Gaza Strip, calling them “flowers plucked while defending our people and homeland.”
Herzog wrote, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) this morning; “A very painful morning in which we learned of the deaths of our dear and beloved sons in battle in Khan Younis.
“Seven flowers plucked while defending our people and homeland. Matan, Ronel, Niv, Ronen, Shahar, Maayan, and another fighter whose name has not yet been released for publication.”
“The fighting in Gaza is tough, the battles are fierce, and the burden is heavier than can be borne,” Herzog continued.
“We bow our heads and embrace with pain and tears the bereaved and grieving families. We pray for the recovery of the wounded fighters and strengthen all IDF soldiers and their commanders who carry on their shoulders the defense of all our lives.”
The IDF later named the seventh fallen soldier as Staff Sgt. Alon Davidov, 21, from Kiryat Yam.
Davidov served as a medic with the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion and was among those killed when their Puma armored combat engineering vehicle was struck by a powerful explosive device in Khan Younis on Tuesday.
According to an initial IDF investigation, a Palestinian terrorist planted the explosive on the vehicle while it was in motion.
The blast ignited a fire that quickly engulfed the vehicle. Despite efforts to extinguish the flames, all seven soldiers inside perished.
The other six soldiers previously identified are:
Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski
Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe
Sgt. Ronen Shapiro
Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein
Staff Sgt. Niv Radia
Sgt. Shahar Manoav
All seven were members of the same battalion.