Tragic Loss: IDF heroes Yam Frid and Yishai Elyakim Urbach fall in Gaza combat  

The IDF this morning (Friday) cleared for publication the names of two soldiers who fell in battle in Gaza:

Sergeant Yishai Elyakim Urbach, aged 20, from Zikhron Ya'akov, a soldier in the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion of the 188th Brigade, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

Staff Sergeant Yam Frid, aged 21, from Sal'it, a soldier in the Golani Reconnaissance Unit of the Golani Brigade, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

This brings the total number of fallen soldiers since the start of the war to 856.

Sergeant Yishai Elyakim Orbach was killed in an incident in which terrorists fired an RPG missile at the building where the force was located. The soldiers entered the building to locate a tunnel shaft, and after the shooting, the building collapsed on the soldiers, and as a result of its collapse, Yishai fell, and two other soldiers from the 605th Engineering Battalion were wounded – one seriously and one moderately.

Staff Sergeant Yam Fried was killed in an incident in which terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at a force from the Golani Patrol and the 605th Battalion. Initial details of the incident reveal that the force was in a raid on a building, after they got out of the armored personnel carrier and were hit by the anti-tank near the armored personnel carrier. The details of the incident are still being clarified and have not yet been finalized by the commanders. As a result of the shooting, Yam fell and 4 other soldiers were wounded - 3 seriously and 1 moderately. Among the wounded were two officers from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit and the 605th Battalion.

The two incidents took place only three hours apart, during the afternoon hours yesterday (Thursday) in the Jenina neighborhood of Rafah, the neighborhood where the Golani Brigade now operates and is defined as the only concentration of terrorists still remaining in the Rafah area. The IDF says that the forces are very close to the final destruction of the neighborhood, and that the fighting is now taking place against the last terrorist squads that, after a long entrenchment in the tunnels of Jenina, are now going out and conducting fighting.

All of the wounded soldiers were evacuated to the hospital to receive medical treatment, and their families have been notified.

On Wednesday, a soldier from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit was severely injured during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

The soldier was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment, and his family has been notified.

On Sunday morning, it was cleared for publication that Captain Noam Ravid, aged 23, from Sha'arei Tikva, and Staff Sergeant Yaly Seror, aged 20, from Omer, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.