The Israeli army announced the death of two Nahal Brigade officers during clashes in the northern Gaza Strip. Captain Eitan Ashkenazi, 24, deputy company commander of the 932nd Battalion, and Captain Dvir Zion Revach, 28, company commander of the same battalion, were killed by anti-tank missile fire in Beit Hanoun.
Binyamin Regional Council Mayor Israel Gantz paid tribute to Ashkenazi: “Eitan, formerly of the Egoz unit, fought bravely and led his soldiers in the Nahal Brigade until he fell in combat. He grew up and was educated in the spirit of devotion and love for the people and the country.”
Michael Kabasa, mayor of Hatzor Haglilit, Ashkenazi's hometown, said: “Hatzor lost one of its best sons. Eitan, fourth generation in Hatzor, was a symbol of dedication, determination and courage.”
Two other soldiers from the 932nd Battalion were seriously injured in the same attack and were evacuated to hospital. This loss brings to 827 the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the war.
The day before, soldier Uriel Peretz, 23, of the Netzah Yehuda battalion, was also killed in Beit Hanoun by an anti-tank missile fire, and seven other soldiers were injured, three of them seriously. A day earlier, Staff Sergeant Yuval Shaham, 22, a tanker with the 9th battalion of the “Traces of Steel” brigade (401), lost his life in an operational accident during an offensive in Jabalia.
Boaz Yossefi, director of the Amit Hatzor school where Ashkenazi studied, emphasized: “Eitan was a man of truth and humility, who loved the Torah. He became an excellent officer after serving as a fighter in a elite unit.”
