Respected leader of Israel’s secret commando unit ‘Ghost’ killed fighting Hamas as officials praise his ‘bravery’
The commander of a team of Israeli troops known as a Ghost unit was killed fighting Hamas when the militants first struck in southern Israel, it has emerged.
Colonel Roy Levy, 44, was the leader of the Multidimensional Unit – a covert group of commandos designed to fight Hamas using drones and other modern warfare techniques.
He was killed as his forces battled Hamas fighters in the community of Re’im, near the border with Gaza, where some 260 festival-goers were killed when violence erupted on Saturday.
The Israeli Defense Force said that Levy ‘courageously led his team, engaged (the terrorists) and entered the battle first in Kibbutz Re’im, in order to save the citizens who were besieged in their homes.’
About 10 Palestinian terrorists were killed during Saturday’s battle, the IDF said. She added in her statement about Levy’s death that she “shares the family’s grief.”
Colonel Roy Levy, 44, was the leader of the Multidimensional Unit – a secret commando group set up to fight Hamas
The Ghost Unit – officially Unit 888 ‘Refaim’ – was established in 2019 and is said to engage in covert reconnaissance missions to root out Hamas.
Col Levy is among dozens of soldiers now confirmed killed in the violence, with Hamas claiming its fighters are still present in Israel.
A British-born soldier was revealed as one of the first to die as the conflict escalated on Saturday.
Nathanel Young, from London, was serving in the 13th Battalion of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when he was killed yesterday, according to the IDF.
His heartbroken family paid tribute to their son who was the ‘life of the party’.
The IDF is releasing all the names of the soldiers killed after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was on a “war footing”.
The Israeli government formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack.
The statement came as the army tried to crush fighters still in southern cities and intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The number exceeded 1000 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.
More than 24 hours after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion from Gaza, Israeli forces were still trying to defeat the last groups of militants holed up in several cities.
Nathanel Young, from London, was serving in the 13th battalion of the Israel Defense Forces when he was killed yesterday.
At least 700 people are reported to have been killed in Israel, a staggering number on a scale the country has not seen in decades, and more than 300 have been killed in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pound the territory.
Israel’s rescue service Zaka said its medics removed about 260 bodies from a music festival attended by thousands of people who were attacked.
The total figure is expected to be higher as other paramedic teams were working in the area.
Video on social media and Israeli media showed dozens of festival-goers running across an open field as gunfire rang out. Many of them hid in nearby orchards or were shot as they fled.
The declaration of war foreshadowed more fighting ahead, and a key question was whether Israel would launch a ground assault on Gaza, a move that has in the past brought heightened casualties.
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