The Israeli military on Sunday announced the death of a brigade commander Ahsan Daksa in a blast in northern Gaza.
According to the military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Colonel Daksa, Commander of the 401st brigade , was killed in the Jabalia area after an explosive struck him as he left his tank.
Another battalion commander and two officers were also lightly wounded in the incident, Hagari added.
They stepped outside “to observe the area and were struck by an explosive,” he said.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant also said issue a separate statement and said that Daksa was killed “while fighting Hamas terrorists.”
Daksa, a 41-year-old member of the Druze community, was killed in action while serving as a brigade commander in the Gaza war. Appointed to this position just four months prior, Daksa was one of the highest-ranking army officers to lose his life in the year-long conflict.
According to Hagari, Daksa’s brigade “was leading the offensive” in Jabalia, where Israeli forces have been conducting intense land and air operations since October 6. The military states that the objective of these assaults, which extend to other areas of northern Gaza, is to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping.
The civil defence agency in the Hamas-controlled territory reported that the two-week assault, still ongoing as of Sunday, has claimed the lives of more than 400 people.
Daksa, who had previously been honored for his bravery in rescuing wounded soldiers during Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah, was hailed as “a hero” by Israel’s President Isaac Herzog. Herzog described Daksa’s death as “a loss to Israel and for Israeli society”. The two sides are currently engaged in another conflict in Lebanon.
With Daksa’s passing, Israel’s military death toll in the Gaza campaign has risen to 358 since the ground offensive began in the Palestinian territory on October 27, 2023.