Four IDF soldiers were killed and three others wounded on Thursday morning in a roadside bomb attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The fallen soldiers were identified as Maj. Omri Chai Ben Moshe hy”d, 26, from Tzafria; Lt. Eran Shelem hy”d, 23, from Ramat Yochanan hy”d; Lt. Eitan Avner Ben Ytzchak hy”d, 22, from Har Bracha; and Lt. Ron Arieli hy”d, 20, from Chadera. All four served in the Dekel Battalion of the Bachad 1 officers’ school. Moshe was a company commander, while the other three were cadets who were posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant. According to the IDF’s preliminary investigation, the blast occurred around 9:30 a.m. during an operation in Rafah’s Jenina neighborhood. A D9 armored bulldozer was clearing a route as two Humvees followed behind. When one of the Humvees pulled to the side of the road, it was struck by an explosive device. The detonation killed the four soldiers instantly and left three others wounded — one seriously and two in moderate condition. The military said it is investigating the nature of the device, how it was detonated, and when it had been planted. Although Israeli forces have largely cleared Rafah of Hamas fighters and infrastructure, the IDF estimates that several dozen terrorists remain in the area, concentrated in Jenina. Earlier on Thursday, before the attack, troops from the 261st Brigade engaged in three separate clashes with armed operatives in Rafah, the army said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)  | Read More The Yeshiva World