The deaths of Kula and Yavetz mark another blow to the Nahal Brigade, which has been engaged in some of the war’s most difficult combat.

By Vered Weiss

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Sunday that two soldiers were killed and three wounded in a terror attack targeting IDF troops in Rafah earlier in the day.

The assault, carried out by Palestinian terrorists emerging from a tunnel, prompted a wave of retaliatory Israeli airstrikes across southern Gaza.

The fallen soldiers were identified as Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21, both of the Nahal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion and residents of the central Israeli city of Modi’in.

The attack occurred at about 10:30 a.m. in southeastern Rafah, near Salah a-Din Road, in an area that remains under Israeli control as part of the ongoing ceasefire arrangement with Hamas.

According to an initial IDF investigation, a group of terrorists surfaced from a tunnel and fired rocket-propelled grenades at an excavator operating in the area, killing the two soldiers instantly.

A second excavator then came under sniper fire, injuring two additional troops, one of them seriously. Moments later, another soldier was hit by a sniper round, the military said.

The attackers did not attempt to seize or abduct any soldiers during the assault, according to the army’s preliminary findings.

The troops had been conducting engineering work to dismantle Hamas infrastructure believed to remain active beneath Rafah despite the ceasefire.

After the attack, Israeli fighter jets and artillery units struck multiple targets in the area.

Later in the day, the air force carried out additional strikes throughout southern Gaza, including on a tunnel network once used by Hamas to hold hostages.

The IDF said operations in Rafah and other southern sectors continue to focus on uncovering hidden tunnels and dismantling the remnants of Hamas’ military presence.

The deaths of Kula and Yavetz mark another blow to the Nahal Brigade, which has been engaged in some of the war’s most difficult combat since the October 7, 2023, invasion that sparked the conflict.

Both soldiers were praised by their commanders for their courage and dedication to protecting Israel’s southern communities.