Oshri Moshe Butzhak, 22 years old from Kiryat Shmuel in Haifa, was killed in action on Saturday in the Gaza Strip. Only a month beforehand, he had proposed to his girlfriend Ravid Damati, and the two had begun planning their wedding.
In June, Butzhak finished his officer's course. He was given a posthumous promotion from lieutenant to captain.
The names of four other fallen soldiers were published along with his: Nir Rafael Kananian, Birhanu Kassie, Shay Termin, and Alexander Shpits. Additionally, five soldiers from the Givati Brigade were seriously injured over Shabbat.
On Saturday, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz entered the town of Beit Hanon in the northern area of the Gaza Strip, where they held an operational situaiton assessment together with Commander of the Northern Brigade in the Gaza Division, Lt. Col. Haim Cohen. The Ministers later held a discussion with troops in the 969 Reserve Battalion.
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant commented: "Every building from where shootings or launches are conducted, and every source of terrorism, must be taken down so that the residents of Sderot [Israel’s south], may return home in peace, knowing that threatening infrastructure no longer stands.”
Speaking directly to the troops he said: “What you are doing here is shown in all of Gaza – I am sure that Sinwar is sitting in his bunker, watching TV - so he sees what Beit Hanoun and Shuja’iyya look like. This is also true for the Hamas commanders who are fighting our troops in Khan Younis – they understand how the story of the Beit Hanoun battalion ends. These images reverberate in the entire region.”
“There should be a price for those who attack the State of Israel and those who commit the brutal murder of civilians, women, and children - we must eliminate them. This reflects in the entire reigon because everyone can use ‘Google Maps’ and imagine what may happen in Beirut.”
Minister Benny Gantz commented: "I want to thank you on behalf of the citizens of Israel. This campaign is one of the most important that the State of Israel has ever conducted - it serves both the residents of the south and radiates to other arenas. I am sure that Nasrallah is looking at what is happening here and he does not want it to happen in his area.”