Yaniv, a company commander in Battalion 932 from Modi'in, and Itai, a soldier in the battalion - also from Modi'in - were killed in an incident where Hamas terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at an engineering vehicle. A reserve soldier in the Gaza Division was seriously wounded. Terrorists also fired from sniper rifles.

Yoav Zeiton

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The IDF spokesman authorized the publication this evening (Sunday) that an officer and a soldier were killed in

An incident in Rafah, in which terrorists fired at IDF soldiers despite the ceasefire

The fallen are Major Yaniv Kola (26) from Modi'in, and Sergeant Itay Ya'vetz (21) from Modi'in. Yaniv was a company commander in the 932nd Battalion of the Nahal Brigade, and Itay was a fighter in the Erez program in the brigade's battalion. In addition, a reserve fighter in the IDF's Gaza Division was seriously wounded. A message was delivered to his family. In another incident in the region, two soldiers were moderately wounded. Messages were delivered to their families. The number of IDF casualties since the beginning of the war stands at 918.

Major Yaniv Kula, late Sergeant Itai Yavetz, late (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

From the known details, three shooting incidents occurred simultaneously in the same area in Rafah. Terrorists who emerged around 10:30 AM from a tunnel in Rafah, after apparently being"trapped" in it, fired anti-tank missiles at the engineering vehicle. The combat team of Battalion 932 was working to scan, locate, and destroy tunnels. The terrorists emerged from the tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile from short range at a"Bagger" that was working to locate the tunnel. The shooting killed Major Kola, who is married with no children, and Sergeant Yavetz. The reserve soldier was seriously wounded. The number of casualties from the city of Modi'in since the beginning of the war stands at 38.

Shortly thereafter, other terrorists fired at another engineering vehicle. The terrorists fired sniper fire at a nearby"bagger," resulting in two soldiers being moderately wounded. Minutes later, the terrorists fired again with sniper weapons at a force in the area. In this case, there were no casualties.

Hamas, for its part, denied responsibility for the incident and claimed that"we are committed to everything that was agreed upon, including a ceasefire in all areas of the Gaza Strip. We deny any knowledge of events or battles in the Rafah area, and clarify that Rafah is a red zone under the control of IDF forces. Communication with what remains of our forces has been cut off since the war resumed in March of this year." The statement further claimed that Hamas "has no connection to the events, and there is no possibility of communicating with the fighters there and knowing whether they are alive."

The previous day, there was the first significant violation of the ceasefire, a week after it began - in two incidents in which armed terrorists emerged from tunnels toward IDF forces, in Khan Yunis and Rafah. Several of those terrorists were eliminated.

Since the ceasefire, IDF forces in the buffer zones have been subject to heavy restrictions on opening fire orders. Firing is only permitted to remove suspects near them or for precise shooting provided that an armed terrorist has approached the defender and posed a threat to the forces. In any other scenario, such as remotely identifying Hamas militants, by sight, with binoculars, a drone or a UAV, IDF forces are prohibited from firing at them. This is despite the fact that 7,000 Hamas operatives have already been redeployed throughout the Gaza Strip to reimpose authority over the local population that returned to their neighborhoods in cities and towns after the IDF withdrawal.

As part of US President Trump's 20-point plan, the second phase, on which there is still no agreement between Israel and Hamas, includes further IDF withdrawals, beyond the Yellow Line, which is supposed to transfer territories to the control of a future international force that will be established and will be responsible for demilitarizing the Strip. About 200 American soldiers are expected to arrive in Israel to oversee the implementation of the agreement, and Vice President J.D. Vance is also expected to arrive.