A BRIT-Israeli soldier has been killed by an explosive in Gaza, reports say.
Tragic Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, died in the Kafr Jabalia area in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
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He had been living in Israel with his family for the last 12 years.
The IDF soldier had been living in the city of Ra’anna.
And he was part of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion.
He was killed by an explosive on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported.
The Foreign Office said it was “looking into reports that an IDF soldier who died in combat in Gaza is a British national”.
Yisrael is believed to be the third British-Israeli soldier killed since the bloody October 7 attacks two years ago.
His death comes after Binyamin Needham, 19, was killed in December 2023 after serving for two days in Gaza.
And IDF soldier Nathanel Young, 20, was killed in February last year.
A family friend told Haaretz newspaper that Nathanel was “just a lovely, sweet boy who was always smiling”.
At the time of his death, she said: “Today our sweet Nathan was taken from us and he is young, very young; this has to stop.
“Get the soldiers out of there and get the hostages out. Enough… my heart is broken.”
A Gaza civil defence spokesman, told AFP that Sunday’s death toll in the strip had risen to 34 people, including at least four children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the 12-day war with Iran had created opportunities for Israel.
The first opportunity he identified was the return of hostages held in Gaza by terror group Hamas.
And it comes as Israel said it killed one of the last masterminds behind the bloody October 7 attacks.
Senior Hamas commander Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa was “eliminated” in a targeted airstrike on Gaza City, according to the IDF.
The Israel Defense Forces described Al-Issa as a founding member of Hamas’ military wing, before he was wiped out in an operation on the Sabra neighbourhood.
“Issa led Hamas’ force build-up, training, and planned the October 7 massacre,” the IDF posted on X.
As Head of Combat Support, he advanced aerial & naval attacks against Israelis.
“The IDF & [Israel Security Agency] will continue to locate and eliminate all terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre.”
According to Palestinian reports, Al-Issa was killed along with his wife and grandson, though this has not been independently confirmed.
The IDF later said it had verified his death, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Al-Issa is widely believed to have played a pivotal role in orchestrating the October 7 bloodbath on southern Israel that triggered the current war, with terrorists slaughtering kidnapping dozens of innocent people.
The military described him as a “central knowledge figure” and a high-value target who was instrumental in building Hamas’ training and weapons programmes.
The IDF said in a statement: “In the past, Issa led Hamas’ force-buildup efforts in the Gaza Strip, was one of the founders of its military wing, served as Head of the Training Headquarters, and was a member of Hamas’ General Security Council.
“Additionally, Issa played a significant role in the planning and execution of the brutal October 7 massacre.”
More than 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza.
Israel’s war against Hamas continues to rage on, after the terror group killed 1,200 people and took 251 captives back to Gaza on October 7 2023.
Israel’s subsequent military response has seen more than 56,000 Palestinians die, according to the Gaza health ministry.
