IDF Soldier Killed in Jeep Rollover Incident

An IDF soldier was killed overnight Motzoei Shabbos in a jeep mishap along the Gaza border. Twenty-year-old Yuval Mena, a fighter in a paratroop unit, will be laid to rest Sunday. Three other soldiers were injured in the incident. Two were in serious condition Sunday morning, while a third was being treated for light wounds.

The jeep in which the four soldiers were patrolling the border rolled over as it passed the area near the Kissufim crossing on the southern Gaza border. The driver of the vehicle was pinned under the heavy frame of the jeep and likely was killed immediately, officials said. The other three soldiers were rushed to a hospital in Be’er Sheva with various injuries.

IDF officials have opened an investigation into the incident. Officials said their initial investigation had determined that the vehicle may have been traveling too fast for the road conditions, and that it rolled over several times. The jeep was on a routine patrol along with two other vehicles, the last in the three-vehicle convoy, with the other two vehicles passing the site of the mishap without incident, they said.