The IDF named Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson as a fallen soldier on Sunday evening, the military announced in a press release.
Levinson, 19 and from Giv'at Avni, served in the 77th "Oz" Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade and was killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7.
His death, however, has only just been determined after the chief rabbinic military authority evaluated all available evidence. According to reports, Levinson was in a tank that was caught by surprise when Hamas terrorists crossed the border in the early morning of October 7. His tank managed to kill around 15 terrorists with shells before being overwhelmed. Although tank driver Ido Somech managed to escape with his life, the remaining members of the tank crew were killed in the battle: Levinson, shell-loader Ofir Testa, and tank gunner Ariel Eliyahu.
IDF reservist killed in southern Gaza battle
Staff Sergeant (Res.) Uriel Aviad Silberman, 23, was killed in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend and was also named by the IDF early Sunday.
Silberman, from Moshav Nahalim, served as a reserve combat officer in Battalion 7421, Kirithi Brigade.
Another soldier in Silberman's battalion was seriously injured.The two deaths announced on Sunday bring the total IDF losses since October 7 to 532.