The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Captain Reei Biran, a 21-year-old squad commander in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, was killed on 10 July during combat operations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. An initial probe indicates Biran died when an explosion tore through a building that troops had earlier rigged with explosives for demolition. The military is examining whether the blast was triggered by a malfunction or hostile fire. Biran’s death is the latest in a string of Israeli military casualties in the Gaza Strip. On 4 July the army announced the deaths of Sergeants Yair Eliyahou and Asaf Zamir, both 19, during fighting in northern and southern Gaza, respectively. On 29 June Sergeant Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, was killed in Jabalia, northern Gaza, when an explosive device detonated. According to figures cited by Israeli media and confirmed by the IDF, 41 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the collapse of the March cease-fire, bringing the military’s overall death toll to roughly 890 since the war with Hamas began on 7 October 2023, including 448 during ground operations. Israeli forces continue to conduct raids and demolition missions across the enclave as the conflict enters its tenth month.