IDF reservist paratrooper killed in Gaza clashes; four others wounded in the Strip and in Nablus - Haaretz

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Wed., October 31, 2007 Cheshvan 19, 5768

Israel Time: 02:48 (EST+7)

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IDF reservist paratrooper killed in Gaza clashes; four others wounded in the Strip and in Nablus

By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff

One IDF soldier was killed yesterday and four others were wounded in three separate incidents in the Gaza Strip and Nablus. The dead soldier was identified as Ehud Efrati, 34, a resident of Beit Yehoshua and a reservist in the paratroopers.

Efrati was killed when his paratrooper unit operating in the Gaza Strip encountered a number of Hamas gunmen at approximately 1 AM, several hundred meters west of the Sufa checkpoint.

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The soldiers identified two armed Palestinians moving toward the fence, and a squad raced forward. The Palestinians responded with gun fire, and one of the bullets struck a grenade Efrati carried on his combat vest causing it to explode. He died in the field.

Two other soldiers who were nearby suffered minor wounds, and were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva for treatment.

The commander of the Gaza Division, Brigadier General Moshe Tamir, said that the exchange of fire lasted a very short while, and took place at close range.

IDF troops have been operating in the area for the last week, in an effort to prevent terrorists from firing rockets and mortars against Israel. In an effort to counter the IDF incursions, Hamas has deployed its own men to the area in order to ambush the Israeli soldiers.

"In any sort of fighting, there is no activity without injuries," Tamir said. "We are changing our fighting techniques and tactics all the time. This was a tactical encounter, and unfortunately we paid a very dear price for it. Last week there have been seven incidents near the fence, in which nearly 20 gunmen were killed. The reservist battalions who are deployed in the Strip are exhibiting exceptional operational capabilities, and they carry out the same missions as the regular troops."

One of the Palestinian gunmen, Ahmed Abu Tahun, 22, was killed, and the other managed to escape.

Early yesterday morning in the Gaza Strip, forces from the Golani Brigade operating north of Beit Hanun and backed by armor and combat engineers came under small arms fire and RPG rockets. One of the soldiers suffered serious wounds as a result of a rocket explosion. He was evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon for treatment.

One Palestinian gunman, Mohammed Hamad, 23, was killed when a tank fired at the house from which the rocket was directed against the IDF force.

In another incident, air craft fired a missile against Palestinians making their way toward the infantry force near Beit Hanun, and Palestinian sources said that a civilian, 44-year-old Farid Abu Uda, was killed. Abu Uda was disabled and unable to move easily.

Meanwhile, a Givati Brigade soldier suffered moderate wounds in the Ein Beit-Ilme refugee camp in Nablus yesterday morning, when an IDF patrol carrying out arrests there came under fire, and a battle ensued. The soldier suffered shrapnel wounds to his neck, and was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.

Also yesterday, the IDF uncovered a bomb-making laboratory in the house of a fugitive gunman in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The gunman was arrested.

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