15-07-2025
IDF investigation reveals three soldiers killed by exploding turret, not missile
The initial assessment by the IDF was that an anti-tank missile caused the explosion.
An IDF investigation into the deaths of three soldiers from the 401st Brigade of the Armored Corps found that the explosion which killed them was caused by an exploding tank turret, and not by an anti-tank missile, as first believed, the military confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
The initial assessment by the IDF was that an anti-tank missile caused the explosion, Army Radio said. But, as of Monday evening, the IDF already believed there was a high likelihood that it was an operational accident and that one of the tank's shells exploded inside. It is unclear what caused the shell to explode.
The soldiers, who were killed in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip.
They were identified as 21-year-old St.-Sgt. Shoham Menahem, 20-year-old Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem, and 19-year-old Sgt. Yuliy Faktor.
According to the IDF's tally, the death of Staff-Sergeant Shoham, Sergeant Shlomo, and Sergeant Yuliy Faktor raises the total number of soldiers killed on or since October 7 of last year to 893.
Some 446 of them were killed since the start of the military's ground operations in the Gaza Strip on October 27.
