The IDF reported Saturday that Sergeant Major (res.) Betzalel Yehoshua Mosbacher, 32, has died from wounds sustained during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mosbacher, a combat engineer in the 828th Brigade's 749th Engineering Battalion, was critically injured last Saturday when a military Humvee he was in struck an explosive device in the Khan Younis area.
A reserve engineering officer from the 179th Division's 710th Battalion was also seriously wounded in the same incident.
Mosbacher, a resident of Or Yehuda, grew up in the Golan Heights community of Avnei Eitan and worked for the Israel Electric Corporation. He is survived by his wife, Maayan, and their young daughter.
The Golan Regional Council mourned his death in a statement, saying, “In this difficult hour, the Golan community embraces his wife Maayan, their daughter, his parents Yaakov and Hannah, his siblings and the entire family. We salute the soldiers of the IDF who continue to risk their lives in this war.”
Since the outbreak of war following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, 896 Israeli soldiers have been killed, according to the IDF. This figure does not include several civilian contractors who were also killed in the fighting in Gaza. Sixteen IDF soldiers have died since the beginning of July alone.
Among them was Sergeant Major (res.) Vladimir Loza, 36, from Ashkelon, of the 7020th Battalion. He was killed in Rafah in what is believed to have been an IED attack on a 5th Brigade force. Two other reservists were wounded in the same incident. Loza is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Also killed Monday was Staff Sergeant Amit Cohen, 19, of the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion. A resident of Holon, Cohen died in an operational accident involving an explosion suspected to have resulted from improper handling of an explosive device. A fellow officer from the same battalion was seriously injured in the blast.
Meanwhile, fighting in the Gaza Strip continues on multiple fronts. According to the latest IDF situation report released Saturday morning, the 36th Division is operating in the Khan Younis area, the 98th Division is active around Gaza City and the 162nd Division is conducting operations in the northern part of the territory.
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Over the past 24 hours, Israeli Air Force jets struck more than 100 terror targets across the enclave in coordination with ground forces. Targets included terrorist cells, military sites, combat tunnels, anti-tank missile positions and weapons storage sites.
The escalation comes amid faltering negotiations over a potential hostage deal with Hamas. Israel and the United States withdrew their negotiating teams from Doha following what was described as a negative response from Hamas to the latest mediator proposal.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff accused the terror group of deliberately avoiding an agreement. Both Witkoff and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they are now considering “alternative options” to secure the hostages’ release.
U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a potential military escalation, saying, “Now we're down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages. And basically because of that, they really didn't want to make a deal."
Meanwhile, Israel faces mounting international pressure over reports of a severe hunger crisis in Gaza. On Saturday, the IDF announced the launch of “a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, and to refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."
For the first time since the war began, Israel carried out an airdrop of aid into the territory, under instructions from the political leadership. The IDF also announced plans to establish humanitarian corridors to allow safe passage for UN convoys and aid organizations delivering food and medical supplies.
“The IDF is prepared to implement humanitarian pauses in densely populated areas and will continue to operate to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate terrorists in the areas of activity,” the military said in a statement."