2 More Soldiers, Including Brigade Commander, Fell In Northern Gaza Battle

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — BDE: The IDF released the names of 2 more soldiers who died in the battle with Hamas terrorists in Sejaiya on Tuesday. In all, nine soldiers including the battalion commander of the 13th Golani battalion and the brigade commander of the Paran brigade fell in the battle, one other soldier fell in an unrelated incident.

Sergeant Eran Aloni (19) of Ofakim, the son of Lachish police commander Doron Aloni. Doron was injured fighting on Oct. 7th, and his other son was saved from the Nova music festival.

Eran Aloni HyD

Colonel Yitzchak Ben-Bassat of Sde Yaakov(44) fell while leading forces in Sejaiya. Ben-Bassat had been the commander of a reserve commando brigade and recently became commander of the Paran brigade. He is survived by his wife and four children.

Yitzchak Ben Bassat HyD

The incident started after four Golani soldiers entered a building in Sejaiya and contact was lost with them after they were attacked by terrorists emerging from a tunnel. The commanders feared that the soldiers might be kidnapped and therefore brought in further forces to try and rescue them, but these forces came under attack from terrorists in neighboring buildings, and the commanders themselves were attacked as they stood on a nearby building to try and supervise the forces in battle and ensure that there was no friendly fire.

Eventually forces succeeded in entering the building and eliminating the terrorists. They found the four soldiers all dead, but they had not been kidnapped.

The IDF stressed that the same Golani brigade has successfully eliminated 350 terrorists in the last few days in Sejaiya (the same neighborhood where seven Golani soldiers fell and one body was taken into captivity in 2014) and has nearly completed the conquest of the entire neighborhood, which is expected to occur “in the next few days.”