Arbel Reich z"l of blessed memory HY"D may his blood be avengedOne Givati Brigade soldier, St.-Sgt. Arbel Reich, 21, was killed and two were lightly wounded overnight Wednesday in an exchange of fire with armed PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazis in the Gaza Strip. Both soldiers were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for treatment.
Reich, who was survived by his parents and two sisters, was the first IDF troop to be killed in action since St.-Sgt. Kiril Golenshin, 21, a dog-handler in the crack 'Sting' canine unit, was killed in a firefight in Beit Hanun on November 1, 2006.
According to Channel 2, the Givati troops, together with armored and engineering units, entered the el-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza as part of an ongoing attempt to weaken the terrorist infrastructure in the Strip and locate smuggling tunnels.
As they approached one of the homes in the camp, PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazis opened fire. The soldiers shot back, wounding two PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazis gunmen, one seriously, Hamas said. Hamas said its gunmen detonated two large mines, wounding soldiers.
While ground troops were operating near el-Bureij, the air force executed a missile strike in the same area early Thursday. The army confirmed the strike, but did not provide details on the identity of the targets or their affiliation.
However, PLO/Hamas Arab Muslim Nazi sources reported that two Islamic Jihad members were seriously hurt in the attack.
Elsewhere, bombs were detonated late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning near soldiers operating in Nablus. None of the troops were hurt and no damage reported in either incident.
The IDF arrested a total of five terror suspects throughout the West Bank overnight Wednesday, all of whom were transferred to security forces for interrogation.