Itongadol.- Deaths of Captain Dimitri Levitas and First Lieutenant Natan Cohen brings number of fallen soldiers to 29; more than 5,000 attend funeral of lone French soldier Jordan Ben Simon.
Two IDF officers, Captain Dmitri Levitas and First Lieutenant Natan Cohen were killed in fighting in Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday, raising the death toll of IDF soldiers to 29, as Operation Protective Edge enters its 16th day.
In the last 24 hours some 20 IDF soldiers were wounded, three are in serious condition and nine sustained moderate wounds.
Captain Levitas, 26, an Armored Corps company commander from Jerusalem, was killed by sniper fire in Gaza. His family moved to Israel from Tashkent, Uzbekistan when he was just a year old, and he was planning a career in the military.
First Lieutenant Cohen, 23, also served in the Armored Corps, but as platoon commander. The time and location of both their funerals will be published later in the day.
Two Israeli civilians have also been killed by Palestinian rocket fire that has reached deep into Israel, disrupting daily life and spreading panic despite the success of Iron Dome.
Three Palestinians died in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, Gaza officials said. Rocket launches set off air-raid sirens in southern Israel, but there was no word on casualties.