The tragic incident in which two IDF officers and eight soldiers lost their lives on Tuesday occurred in the kasbah of Shuja’iyya on the outskirts of Gaza City, one of the densest areas of the Gaza Strip and rife with terror targets.

Golani soldiers entered a building complex of three adjacent buildings and a yard from two directions and found an underground tunnel shaft inside the complex. Terrorists hiding in the complex suddenly detonated an explosive device and then opened fire on the soldiers with M-16 rifles and threw grenades at them, killing four of them.

Fearing that the terrorists would try to kidnap soldiers via the underground tunnel, nearby IDF commanders were deployed to lead additional forces to rescue the soldiers, with several forces surrounding the complex from all sides. Golani commander Col. Yitzchak Ben Basat, H’yd, and a soldier fell into an ambush and were killed by the terrorists, who continued shooting, hurling grenades, and detonating explosives.

Two soldiers from the 669 Rescue Unit tried to break open a door of the complex, which turned out to be booby-trapped, and the resulting explosion killed them.

Meanwhile, terrorists fired at the complex from nearby buildings, including a Matador missile which resulted in the deaths of the commander of Golani’s 13th Battalion, Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, H’yd, and one of his soldiers.

Other IDF commanders then isolated the area to rescue and treat the casualties. The Air Force illuminated the area with flares as terrorists continued to open fire. Golani soldiers eventually entered the building after blasting a hole in the wall with a missile and found the bodies of the four soldiers who were killed in the first blast. A rescue helicopter evacuated the dead and wounded soldiers.

The Golani Brigade issued a statement on Wednesday morning saying: “During searches to clear buildings in the heart of the kasbah of Shuja’iyya, which is a very dense area and full of terror targets, a powerful explosion occurred in one of the buildings and several soldiers were injured. Another force led by commanders entered the buildings to rescue the soldiers and another explosion occurred inside the building. A third force went around the side to reach the building and a third explosion occurred.”

“The 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade was at the peak of its mission of clearing the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure against one of the most dangerous terror battalions in the Gaza Strip,” the statement concluded.

The incident began at about 4 p.m. and lasted about three hours. The IDF said that the immediate response of the senior commanders prevented incidents of friendly fire and thwarted an even more severe outcome.

Col. Ben Basat, 44, Hy’d is the most senior IDF officer to fall in the ground operation in Gaza.

Several hours after the deaths of the forces were announced, the IDF published a video of Golani soldiers in battles in Shuja’iyya:

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)