The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed the deaths of four soldiers in a building explosion Friday in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The victims were Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein (23), Staff Sgt. Uri Yhonatan Cohen (20), Sgt. Maj. (res.) Chen Gross, and Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, all from the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.
According to the IDF, the soldiers entered the building to search for Hamas terror infrastructure, including tunnels. The structure was booby-trapped, and the explosion caused it to collapse, killing four and injuring five others—one seriously.
The blast occurred around 6 a.m. in the Bani Suheila area. Hamas claimed responsibility.
Mourning the fallen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “sad and difficult day,” adding, “They gave their lives to defeat Hamas and bring our hostages home.” President Isaac Herzog echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the heavy price of war and the nation’s duty to remember its heroes.
Tributes poured in, including from Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen, who described Rotstein as “the salt of the earth,” and released hostage Liri Albag, who mourned Cohen and Raver as young men who “didn’t have time to really live.”
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the army would investigate the incident and reiterated the dangers soldiers face when clearing potentially rigged buildings.
The explosion brings Israel’s military death toll in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack to 429, including police officers and civilian contractors. Hostage concerns remain dire, with 55 captives still held by terror groups in Gaza, 33 of them confirmed dead.
