Master Sgt. David Sasson, 21, was killed when an explosive device detonated during a battle in southern Gaza, the IDF said on Wednesday. Sasson was a soldier in the Oketz canine unit of the military; he was from Ginot Hadar, a small community in central Israel. His death brings the total IDF casualties since the ground offensive in Gaza began to 247.
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The military said that 12 others were wounded in the fierce battle in the Hemed quarter of Khan Younis, that had been under siege by Israeli forces.
Five of the injured, three from a commando force and two from the canine unit, suffered serious injuries in the fighting and seven others were also hurt.
In a statement, the IDF said that the troops identified terrorists on the second floor of a building who then launched RPGs at them. In the exchanges of fire that ensued, two of the terrorists were killed and two others who were trying to escape the building were attacked from the air.