The names five soldiers killed by mortar fire on Thursday were released on Friday by the IDF Spokesman's Unit.
The soldiers are Sergeant First Class (res.) Daniel Marash, 22, of Rishon Lezion, Capt. Omri Tal, 22, from Yehud, St.-Sgt. Shay Kushnir, 20, of Kiryat Motzkin, St.-Sgt. Noam Rosenthal, 20, from Meitar, and Capt. (res.) Liran Adir (Edry), 31, of Ezuz.
They were combat soldiers serving in the Armored Corps. The soldiers were operating on the Israeli side of the border in the Eshkol region when they were hit by Hamas mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip.
Several casualties were reported on Thursday after shelling hit the spot were soldiers were gathered, but the IDF did not confirm any fatalities until Friday morning.
Sixteen other soldiers were wounded in the same incident.
Earlier in the afternoon, a rocket struck an apartment building in Kiryat Gat and shrapnel seriously wounded a 30-year-old man. He was rushed to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. A teenage girl and a 60-year-old man were lightly hurt from shrapnel, and vehicles in the parking lot of the building were set alight.