The IDF announced Tuesday that five soldiers were killed in an attempted infiltration into Israel on Monday via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza. During the infiltration, a terrorist cell came out of a tunnel near Nahal Oz and fired an anti-tank missile at the base of an IDF watch tower, killing five soldiers.IDF soldiers on top of the tower shot and killed at least one terrorist who attempted to kidnap a body.The five fallen soldiers were identified Tuesday morning as Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim; Sergeant Barkai Yishai Shor, 21, of Jerusalem; Sergeant Sagi Erez, 19, of Kiryat Ata; Sergeant Dor Dery, 18, of Jerusalem; Sgt. Nadav Raimond, 19, from Shadmot Dvora. All five soldiers had been part of a commanders' training course.
Hamas terrorists claimed in a statement their "fighters" had killed 10 Israeli soldiers in the incident before returning home safely. Residents of the kibbutz and nearby communities were asked to remain in their homes earlier on Monday evening due to the suspected security incident.
After the infiltration, the IDF warned thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes in areas around Gaza City. Such warnings usually precede retaliatory strikes.The killing of the five soldiers near Nahal Oz brings the total number of IDF fatalities to 53. Earlier on Monday, four more IDF soldiers were killed in a mortar shell attack on the Eshkol Regional Council. An additional soldier, St.-Sgt. Moshe Davino, 20, from Jerusalem, was killed in battle when a terrorist cell fired an anti-tank missile at a D-9 armored bulldozer he was in, on Monday afternoon. In total, ten IDF soldiers were killed on Monday, day 21 of Operation Protective Edge.Reuters contributed to this report.