Heavy Israeli Casualties Include High-Ranking Officers And Special Forces Personnel

JERUSALEM (VINnews) —  As casualties continued to mount after the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel Saturday, the IDF has published the names of 44 soldiers who have been killed in fighting with terrorists. The Israeli police published a list of 30 police officers who have been killed in the fighting.

The most senior officer among those killed was Col. Yehonatan Steinberg HyD, a 42-year-old father of six from Kibbutz Shomriya. Steinberg, who commanded the Nahal brigade, left his kibbutz to join his brigade fighting near Kerem Shalom but was killed in an encounter with terrorists before he reached Kerem Shalom.

Other senior officers included the commander and deputy commander of the southern brigade, deputy commander of the Karakal unit and company commanders from the Golani and Nahal brigades.

Police casualties included several members of the Yamam, the Special Forces police unit, as well as the Yasam, the special patrols police unit.

Other casualties included two residents of the Psagot community, Yisrael Amichai Witzen HYD, who is the son of the local rabbi, and Moshe Yedidya Raziel (Rosenberg) HyD.

Also killed in the attacks was Lieutenant Colonel Yehonatan Tzur, a company commander in the Nahal brigade. Tzur, a father of 3 from Kedumim, was killed during clashes with terrorists at the Gaza border communities.

Another casualty from the Samarian community of Itamar was Capt. Ohr-Yosef Ran, the son of Avri Ran, who is one of the founders of the settlement and established his home in Givot Olam east of Itamar.

Lieutenant Colonel Roi Levi, a former commander of the crack Egoz unit, was another casualty in Saturday’s fighting. Levi was injured in the Cast Lead operation and severely injured in the subsequent Protective Edge operation in Gaza in 2014, but returned to lead his unit. He was one of the torchlighters at Israel’s 2017 Independence Day ceremony.