Soldier, Policeman Hy’d Killed in Shejaiya During Intense Fighting

An IDF soldier and a Border Police officer were killed Friday afternoon amid clashes in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, the military and police reported Sunday.

The murdered soldier was identified as Cpt. Ido Voloch Hy”d, 21, a platoon commander in the 46th Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade, from Yerushalayim. The police officer was named as Sgt. Neta Yitzhak Kahane Hy”d, a member of the Border Police’s covert Yamas unit.

Based on an initial investigation by the IDF, troops from the Yerushalayim Reserve Infantry Brigade, alongside Yamas officers, had set up an ambush inside a building in Shejaiya.

At approximately 4:40 p.m., terrorists approached the location of the ambush, prompting Israeli forces to open fire. During the ensuing gunbattle, the Yamas officer was fatally wounded.

Rescue teams were quickly sent to the area to evacuate the forces from the ambush site. About 15 minutes later, an army Humvee attempting to reach the scene was struck by RPG fire, resulting in moderate injuries to one soldier.

Close to an hour after the initial attack, a group of IDF tanks, deployed as part of the rescue effort, also came under RPG fire from operatives in Shejaiya. One of the projectiles struck and killed Voloch, while another soldier sustained minor injuries.

Roughly an hour later, two reservists from the Yerushalayim Brigade’s 7007th Battalion were moderately wounded in the same area by a combination of RPG fire and small arms fire.