Maj. (res.) Moshiko Maxim Rozenwald, 35, and Sgt.-Maj. (res). Alexander Anosov, 26, both from Modi’in, were killed in Rafah deep in southern Gaza, the military announced Tuesday.
Rozenwald and Anosov served in the Engineering Battalion within the Nahal Brigade. Two other soldiers were wounded in the same incident.Initial estimates were that the incident involved the collapse of a structure that the soldiers were inside.
Also, initially, the IDF did not say anything specific about how the structure collapsed, including whether it was from an attack from Hamas, but a later update said it was unrelated to any attack.
Rather, the later update said the frequent movements of large tanks and other vehicles in the area and the fact that it was less stable from the start, led to its collapse.
IDF probing incident
The IDF said it was still probing why the soldiers were in the structure if it was known that it was less stable and whether the frequent movement of vehicles could have implications for other structures potentially collapsing.There have been general stability problems with many of the buildings in Gaza, which have seen extensive damage from the war.The Hamas-run Health Ministry announced late Monday that the number of Gazans killed had crossed 45,000.While Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, it said over 12,000 were women and over 17,000 under the age of 18.That would leave another 16,000 male adults.Incidentally, Israel has estimated that it has killed between around 17,000 (IDF estimates) to 20,000 (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimates) Hamas fighters.The 45,000 could still be exaggerated and Hamas has armed a significant number of minor teenagers to fight IDF soldiers, who could be considered fighters, but the above Israel and Hamas numbers might also at this point be fairly consistent.Israel has admitted to Palestinian civilians unintentionally being caught in the crossfire given that Hamas systematically embeds itself within the civilian population and in humanitarian safe zones.In addition, Hamas has claimed 106,000 wounded Palestinians. Neither Hamas nor Israel has kept reliable numbers distinguishing between wounded Gazan civilians and fighters other than at the earliest stages of the war.
Briefing on Mount Hermon
Also, Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi held a briefing on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, a strategic location overlooking Damascus, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said on Tuesday.Katz said, “The top of the Hermon is the eyes of the State of Israel for identifying dangers near and far. We can observe Hezbollah on the right side, Damascus on the left side – and on the other side, the State of Israel.”He said the IDF’s placement in a buffer zone in Syrian territory in general, and on the Syrian side of the Hermon in particular, both objectively makes Israeli border villages safer from potential invasion and subjectively should increase their feeling of security.Next, there were multiple foreign reports on Tuesday of IDF forces going somewhat beyond the buffer zone in Syria, which it mostly took over around December 7-8.Some said the IDF controlled certain areas around the Yarmouk River and the al-Wada Dam. The IDF would not confirm any specific locations but confirmed that in certain areas where the geography of maintaining a sound defensive position required, some forces had proceeded somewhat beyond the initial buffer zone.No one gave a clear explanation about why the move was made on Tuesday, around 10 days after the initial incursion.There is an ongoing debate in Israel and the West about whether Syrian’s new rulers, the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), can be trusted to maintain a quiet border with Israel – as Bashar al-Assad generally did – or whether their jihadist beliefs might lead them to be more aggressive about attempting an invasion.To date, HTS has said it does not have the time or energy to fight with Israel, but no formal talks have started to resolve the border stability issue.Still, in general, Israel has said it does not seek to stay in Syria any longer than necessary to ensure that there will be no invasion.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.