An Israeli reservist soldier was killed in an attack carried out by Palestinian terror operatives against troops stationed in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the military announced Wednesday morning.

The attack took place during a ceasefire that began several weeks ago.

The Israel Defense Forces launched “a series of significant strikes” in response, saying it targeted dozens of terror targets and operatives, including commanders in Hamas and other terror groups. Gaza health authorities reported more than 100 dead in the strikes.

Following the strikes, Israel announced at 10 a.m. that the ceasefire was once again in effect.

The slain soldier was named as Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, a heavy machinery operator in the Gaza Division, from the West Bank settlement of Neria.

According to an initial IDF probe, enemy snipers fired at a building used by troops and at an army excavator operating in Rafah’s Jenina neighborhood at around 3:45 p.m.

The gunfire killed Feldbaum, who was operating the excavator.

A short while later, the operatives fired several RPGs at the IDF forces, hitting an armored vehicle in the area but causing no additional injuries, according to the preliminary investigation.

In an immediate response, the IDF said it struck several targets in the area that posed a threat to its troops, including buildings and tunnel shafts.

The Jenina neighborhood is located on the eastern side of the Yellow Line that demarcates the military’s pullback in the Gaza Strip — an area under Israeli control under the ceasefire.

Despite the area being under Israeli control, the IDF has assessed that is a pocket of operatives holed up there. As troops have worked to clear the neighborhood of Hamas infrastructure — including a tunnel network — operatives have emerged from underground and attempted attacks.

Last week, two soldiers were killed in a similar attack in the same neighborhood, which prompted a wave of IDF airstrikes against Hamas.

Israel blamed Hamas for both attacks. The terror group has denied involvement.

Between Tuesday evening and Wednesday........

© The Times of Israel