Israel – Three IDF soldiers were killed and two IDF soldiers who succumbed to their wounds in Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza in the early hours of Saturday, the IDF announced Saturday afternoon, bringing the military death toll in Operation Protective Edge to 42.
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First Lieutenant Roy Peles, 21 from Tel Aviv served in the Nahal Brigade and was killed when his armored vehicle was struck in Gaza.
Staff Sergeant Avraham Grintzvaig, 21, from Petah Tikva also served in the Nahal Brigade and was killed in northern Gaza.
Staff Sergeant Gal Bason, 21, from Holon, was killed in the northern Gaza Strip.
The army also on Saturday released the names of two IDF soldiers who succumbed to their wounds.
Captain Liad Lavi, an officer in an infantry unit, died late Saturday after he was hospitalized in the wake of wounds he had sustained in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Chief Warrant Officer Rami Chalon, a non-commissioned officer serving in the Paratroopers Brigade, died after succumbing to wounds he had sustained in Gaza last week. He was 39 years old.
B’DE
It is interesting to note that in today’s parsha it is mentioned that the Jews traveled from Egypt to Israel which took 40 years. In that time, the parsha mentions that the Jews camped in 42 places. In addition to the 42 holy Israeli soldiers that were killed, Hamas fired 42 rockets at Israel the moment the cease fire ended. I feel that there is some sort of message here but I don’t know what it is. May Hashem comfort the brave families of those great soldiers that made the ultimate sacrifice for the Jewish people. Amen!
From the American experience in Afghanistan, about 30 people are wounded for each one killed. (You have to be impressed by the improvements in battlefield medicine in the last twenty years.) So 50 Israelis killed in action leads us to something like 1,500 wounded to some degree or another.
The Palestinians of course do not get the same fast medical care. We could expect perhaps 10 wounded (or more, this is a guess) for each death. So 1,000 Palestinians killed gives up 10,000 injured.