Deceased had been given missions to ‘destroy infrastructure' in Gaza, says Israeli public broadcaster
An Israeli bulldozer driver working for the military was killed Thursday by an improvised explosive device (IED) that detonated in the northern Gaza Strip, according to Israel's public broadcaster KAN.
“David Libi, a 19-year-old Israeli citizen, was killed by a powerful IED explosion in northern Gaza,” said KAN. “Investigations indicate that he was operating a bulldozer as part of a combat unit from the 401st Brigade in the Jabalia area (north) when the device exploded.”
The Israeli army wrote on X that Libi was employed by a contracting company carrying out engineering work for the military under the direction of the Defense Ministry, and he was from the illegal settlement of Malachi HaShalom in the West Bank.
It added that he had been working with an engineering unit in recent months, tasked with missions to “destroy infrastructure” in Gaza.
According to the Israeli army's latest update as of Tuesday, 858 soldiers have been killed and 5,906 wounded, officers and enlisted personnel, since Oct. 7, 2023. The figures include casualties from offensives in Gaza, southern Lebanon and the West Bank.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
