IDF announces death of soldier in Rafah building collapse

During the incident in which Maj. Rozenwald fell, an additional soldier was killed.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 17, 2024 11:13 Updated: DECEMBER 17, 2024 11:18

Remembering those who were killed in October 7 terrorist attack (photo credit: Canva)

Maj. (res.) Moshiko Maxim Rozenwald, 35, from Modi'in,  serving in the engineering battalion within the Nahal Brigade, was killed in Rafah in deep southern Gaza, the IDF announced on Tuesday.

During the incident in which Maj. Rozenwald fell, an additional soldier whose family has been notified fell. His name has not yet been cleared for publication and will be published later.

Initial estimates are that the incident involved the collapse of a structure that the soldier was inside of.

Also, initially, the IDF did not say anything specific about how the structure collapsed, including whether it was from an attack from Hamas, but a later update said that it was unrelated to any attack.

Rather, the later update said that the frequent movements of large tanks and other vehicles in the area and the fact that it was less stable from the start, led to its collapse.

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. December 2, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF probing incident 

The IDF said it was still probing why the soldier was in the structure if it was known that it was less stable and whether the frequent movement of vehicles could have implications for other structures potentially collapsing.

 There have been general stability problems with many of the buildings in Gaza, which have seen extensive damage by the war.