Israeli brigade commander killed by explosion in Jabalia, Gaza

MADRID 20 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The commander of the 401st Armored Brigade of the Israeli Armed Forces, Colonel Ehsan Daqsa, died this Sunday in fighting in the Jabalia region, in the north of the Gaza Strip. He is one of the highest-ranking Israeli officers killed in the Gaza offensive.

According to the preliminary investigation, Daqsa was outside the tank in which he was traveling with other officers when an explosive device was detonated.

Daqsa, commander of the 52nd Battalion, and two other officers exited the armored vehicle and walked several meters to a place suitable for observation. However, there was a booby trap with explosives at the scene which, after detonating, killed Daqsa instantly and injured two other officers.

Colonel Meir Biderman, ‘number two’ of the 162nd Division, has been appointed as interim commander of the 401st Brigade led by Daqsa, according to ‘The Times of Israel’ newspaper. Colonel Benny Aharon will take Biderman’s place.

The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has highlighted that Daqsa is “a hero of Israel”, “a brave, humble and ethical fighter.” “Together with all of Israel I have received with regret and pain the bitter news of the death of the commander of the 401st Brigade (…), who fell today in combat in Jabalia,” Herzog has published in X.

“I pay tribute and hug his family, the community of Daliyat al Carmel and our sisters and brothers of the Druze community, who have lost so many valuable children since the beginning of this fight with devotion, a sense of duty and a shared destiny “, he added.