Israel mourned the loss of four "heroic fighters" who died in combat in Rafah on Thursday.
The soldiers were named as Major Omri Chai Ben Moshe, 26, from Tzafriya; Lieutenant Ron Arieli, 20, from Hadera; Lieutenant Eitan Avner Ben Itzhak, 22, from Har Brakha; and Lieutenant Eran Shelem, 23, from Ramat Yohanan.
They were killed in Rafah when their Hummer transport vehicle ran over an improvised explosive on Thursday morning. Three other soldiers were injured.
Lieutenant Eitan Avner Ben Yitzhak
Lieutenant Eitan Avner Ben Yitzhak was a resident of the Har HaBracha settlement in Samaria and had gotten married three months ago, head of the Samaria Council Yossi Dagan said.
“Eithan grew up within a family with Zionist values, [and was] a son of the Torah, who believed in the settlement of Israel and of Har HaBracha,” Dagan wrote on Facebook.
Major Omri Chai Ben Moshe
Major Omri Chai Ben Moshe was a resident of Tzafriya in the Sdot Dan Regional Council. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
“His funeral will take place today at midnight at the Mount Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem. May his memory be blessed,” said a statement released by the regional council.
Lieutenant Ron Arieli
Ron Arileli died in Gaza on his birthday, Hadera Mayor Nir Ben Haim wrote.
“Ron Arieli, a native of the Ha'atzar neighborhood, an outstanding student, a gifted athlete, and a basketball player for Maccabi Hadera, fell in battle in the Gaza Strip today, on his birthday,” said Ben-Haim.
“Ron was a natural leader, a true friend who always cared for everyone. He grew up and studied in our city, at the Arlozorov School and the Multidisciplinary High School for Sciences and Arts, served as a fighter in Golani, and was in the midst of the officer course, a dream he aspired to with all his heart,” he added.
Lieutenant Eran Shelem
Amos Netzer, head of the Zevulun Regional Council, said that “the residents mourn and grieve the loss of Lieutenant Eran Shalem from Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan.”
Shalem was a cadet in the Dekel Battalion, was enrolled in officers’ training school, and served as a combat soldier in Sayeret Matkal.
Netzer announced his funeral will take place on Friday, September 19, at 1:00 p.m. at the Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan cemetery.
Israeli politicians mourn 'the best of our sons'
"In the name of the entire people, I bow my head and embrace the bereaved families whose world has been shattered, and I pray that this year and its terrible curses will come to an end, and a new year with its blessings will begin," President Isaac Herzog wrote in a statement on X/Twitter.
Herzog called the incident "another painful heartbreak that grips an entire nation."
Democrats leader Yair Golan said that his thoughts were with the soldiers' families, and that he shared in their grief.
"The war, which has already lasted longer than the War of Independence, continues to exact an unbearable price," he wrote.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that he mourned the loss of "the best of our sons," in a statement on X/Twitter.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also sent his condolences to the affected families and stated that he hoped their sacrifice was not in vain.
"This evening illustrates the heavy price we pay in the essential war for existence that we have been fighting for nearly two years, and the obligation to ensure that it is not, God forbid, in vain."