The IDF announced Tuesday the death of a soldier in the southern Gaza Strip, the first fatality since the military began to push into Rafah last week.
He was named as Sgt. Ira Yair Gispan, 19, from Petah Tikva. He served in the 7th Armored Brigade's 75th Battalion. His death brings the death toll of the ground campaign in Gaza to 273.
The announcement came as Israel marked a somber Independence Day with festivities muted due to the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught and the ensuing seven-month-long war.
