10 IDF soldiers killed in heavy fighting in Shejaiya Tuesday night

Ten IDF soldiers fell in heavy fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, including the commander of the 13th Battalion in the Golani Brigade, Lt.-Col. Tomer Greenberg and Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, head of the Golani Brigades commander’s team. 

Greenberg had given a motivational speech to his soldiers shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion, in which he compared Operation Iron Swords to the Yom Kippur War of 1973. 

"The heroism of the fallen soldiers of the 13th Battalion accompanies us in every step we take,” Greenberg told his soldiers.

“We are preparing for a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip, with grueling training and self-and group processing that will eventually prepare us to fight and win. This time, we are the ones who will surprise. We will arrive with strenuous concentration, with all the advanced capabilities and the high standard of the battalion, and we will be the ones who win."

Greenberg had also shared a short speech with the nation of Israel after the IDF seized control of the Katiba outpost, located in the heart of Gaza City. 

The Katiba outpost was one of Hamas’ most significant training posts in the northern Gaza Strip. Greenberg made his speech from the parade ground where Hamas held ceremonies for their terror battalions. It was also the location from where many of the terrorists gathered before carrying out the Oct. 7 massacre. 

"Dear people of Israel, here is the 13th Battalion, this morning we occupied the parade ground of the Katiba outpost, which is located in the heart of Gaza City, and now we are performing a symbolic combat ceremony there in preparation for the continuation of the fighting,” Greenberg said, reporting from the Katiba plaza.

"From this area emerged the greatest terrorists and murderers known to mankind, from this area emerged those accursed terrorists who murdered and kidnapped women on Saturday, October 7: Children and the elderly. This plaza is now in the hands of Golani's 13th Battalion, the flags of Israel and Golani fly with great pride above our armored vehicles, and it is hard to hide the excitement in our hearts.” 

Colonel Basat is the most senior officer killed in the fighting so far.

The IDF announced that seven Golani soldiers fell during one intense firefight with Hamas terrorists as the soldiers attempted to clear the building where the terrorists were hiding. 

During the fighting, a very large IED was set off, which killed and injured several of the soldiers and created an operational separation between some of the units.

As the fighting continued, a rescue team with medics came to retrieve the forces from the building to treat the wounded from the first explosion. At that point a second IED was activated, killing Lt.-Col. Greenberg, who had arrived with the rescue team. 

Golani Company Commander Major Roy Meldassi was also killed during the fight. All terrorists were eliminated in the fighting. 

Another IDF soldier, Staff Sergeant Oriya Yaakov, from the 614th Battalion, was killed in a separate incident during the fighting in Shejaiya. 

The Golani 13th Battalion was on duty at the Gaza border on Oct. 7 and was one of the first forces that engaged Hamas terrorists and their accomplices as they invaded Israel's southern border communities. The unit suffered heavy losses in that fighting as well, with 41 soldiers killed during the fighting. 

The Golani Brigade also suffered heavy losses in Shejaiya during Operation Protective Edge in 10214 during an operation that became known as the Battle of Shejaiya. At that time 16 IDF soldiers were killed fighting there. 

As a Hamas stronghold, Shejaiya is home to several crime families that have supported the terror group for many years, also participating in the conflict. Fighting in the area is expected to remain intense until the IDF eliminates all Hamas terrorists and accomplices in the neighborhood. 

The IDF said on Wednesday morning that 115 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground invasion began.