Two Israeli reservists were killed by a roadside bomb in central Gaza on Saturday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces announced, as clashes continued across the Strip.
The fallen soldiers were identified as Maj. (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, a logistics officer from Rosh Ha'ayin, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mordechai Yosef Ben Shoam, 34, a truck driver from Geva Binyamin. Both served in the Jerusalem Brigade’s 8119th Battalion.
Peled was leading a convoy to supply troops in the southern Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, with Ben Shoam driving one of the trucks. While traveling along the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, a roadside bomb detonated, killing the two reservists and injuring others.
According to an initial IDF investigation and a statement from Hamas, the operatives who planted the bomb also opened fire on the convoy before fleeing the scene.