IDF names reservist Asaf Kafri as soldier who was killed yesterday in northern Gaza Strip by sniper fire

On Friday morning, the IDF cleared for publication the name of the soldier who was killed yesterday in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip: Reservist Master Sergeant Asaf Kafri, 26 years old from Beit Hashmonai, a tank driver in Battalion 79, "Hamahatz" Brigade.

His death brings the total number of IDF fallen soldiers since the beginning of the war to 849. Three other soldiers were injured.

The incident occurred in the early afternoon in the buffer zone, inside an IDF fortification in the Beit Hanoun neighborhood of northern Gaza, where soldiers from the 14th Reserve Brigade have been operating in recent weeks. A sniper who spotted IDF troops opened fire on the soldiers. As a result, the soldier was killed on the spot. Terrorists continued the attack and launched an anti-tank missile, which injured three soldiers –two seriously and one moderately.

Following the incident, IDF Arabic spokesperson Lt.-Col. Avichay Adraee called on residents of Beit Hanoun and Sheikh Zayed to evacuate the area "due to sniper activity in the area" and instructed them to move westward. Subsequently, the IDF began a wave of strikes.

IDF tracker Senior Warrant Officer G’haleb Alnasasra was killed last week near the scene of the incident in Beit Hanoun. A terrorist cell that emerged from an underground shaft fired an anti-tank missile at female surveillance soldiers and later detonated an explosive charge at the trackers, leading to the death of 35-year-old Alnasasra from Rahat, who left behind a wife and three daughters. Five additional male and female soldiers were seriously wounded in the tragic incident.

The IDF is investigating whether the same terrorist cell behind last Saturday’s ambush, which killed the tracker, was also responsible for today’s attack.

Written by KAN 11 correspondents Itay Blumenthal and Carmela Menashe.