BREAKING NEWS British-Israeli teenager is killed while fighting for the IDF in Gaza two weeks after his 19th birthday
- This is a breaking news story, more to follow
A British born teenager has died while fighting in the Gaza Strip for the Israel Defence Forces.
Binyamin Needham who celebrated his 19th birthday two weeks ago, was named by officials as being killed in action along with two others.
Keen martial arts enthusiast Binyamin had only been in Gaza for two days when he was fatally injured although the exact circumstances have not been revealed.
He was born in Edgware, north London, and moved back to Israel ten years ago with his parents Faye and Amnon and the family live near Haifa in northern Israel.
Binyamin was the youngest of six children and was known as the ‘baby of the family and still has a sister and brother in London.
Binyamin Needham (pictured) who celebrated his 19th birthday two weeks ago, was named by officials as being killed in action along with two others
Binyamin will be buried at a military funeral in Haifa on Tuesday after his body was returned to the family
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He was a sergeant in the Combat Engineering Corps of the 601st Battalion and was one of three IDF soldiers killed on Sunday.
Binyamin had just finished his apprenticeship and professional training and had spent the weekend before he was killed with his family.
His sister Orli Ferris said: ‘He was such a wonderful, wonderful brother and we loved him with all our hearts and we always will.
‘He will be missed by all of us and so many others, but we will always make sure we remember him in our hearts.
‘Nothing will be the same now,but we are all very proud of what he did and he was also proud of what he was doing.
‘He had just finished his apprenticeship and was doing his professional training. We don’t know the exact details of what happened but he was only in Gaza for two days. He went in on Friday and died Sunday. ‘
401 soldiers have died since October 7, with 75 during the ground operations in Gaza
The young Londoner was a sergeant in the Combat Engineering Corps of the 601st Battalion and was one of three IDF soldiers killed on Sunday
Israeli troops can be seen making their way into Gaza, following a weeklong truce with Hamas
Orli explained that Binyamin had moved to Israel from London with his parents when he was eight years old.
She added: ‘We are so so sad and my parents are devastated, we can’t make any sense of it and we are heartbroken.
‘We shall honour him and keep his memory alive. He was a wonderful boy and everyone who knew him said the same.
‘He died with a pure soul and he died protecting his country. He would go back to London every year or so to see his siblings who live there.’
He will be buried at a military funeral in Haifa on Tuesday after his body was returned to the family.
In a statement the IDF said it ‘shared the family’s grief’ and would ‘continue to accompany them’.
401 soldiers have died since October 7, with 75 during the ground operations in Gaza.
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