Four IDF reservists entered a booby-trapped structure in southern Lebanon yesterday (Monday). Hours later, in Jabaliya (Gaza), three more soldiers would die in what military sources are calling an entirely preventable tragedy, marking one of the war's darkest days for the IDF's command structure.
The Lebanon incident claimed the lives of four reserve paratroopers - fathers, sons, and husbands who had been serving since October 7. They died when they entered an underground structure in Labouneh village, unaware that their own forces had rigged it with explosives during a previous operation. As their families were being notified, rescue teams were still working desperately to retrieve their bodies from the collapsed structure.
For Israelis, the hardest part is knowing it didn't have to happen. Someone knew about those explosives, but it never reached the men who needed it most.
Just hours later, in Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, another tragedy unfolded. Three soldiers, their tour of duty nearly complete, were killed when their armored transport was struck by anti-tank fire in broad daylight - a direct violation of standing orders against daytime vehicle movement. Twelve others were wounded in the same attack, two critically.
These weren't just numbers on a casualty report. These were men who had fought bravely for months, who had survived countless operations, only to fall because of basic procedural failures. To lose them because someone failed to pass on critical information, or because basic safety protocols were ignored - that's unbearable.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit has maintained its typical reserve regarding operational details, but behind the official silence, the military establishment is roiling.
These seven deaths, occurring in such quick succession and under such preventable circumstances, have cast a shadow over the IDF's operational procedures.
For now, seven more families join the growing circle of bereavement that has marked this war. And in military headquarters across Israel, commanders are left grappling with a painful question: How many more soldiers must die from preventable mistakes before protocols are properly followed?
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