Israel: three soldiers dead in ground assault

Israel says three soldiers have died in the first two days of the ground campaign of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Israel Defence Forces Sgt. Eitan Barak from Herzliya is killed in Gaza under unclear circumstances, and the IDF is investigating the incident to determine whether the Nahal Brigade fighter was hit by friendly fire or enemy fire. Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, of Nahariya, and Maj. Amotz Greenberg, 45, of Hod Hasharon are killed and two IDF officers are wounded, and one Gazan is wounded in a clash in the Eshkol region with a Hamas squad that enters Israel via a tunnel from central Gaza. The Hamas operatives are dressed in IDF uniforms and armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, syringes, sedatives and handcuffs, the Israeli army says. Israeli paratroopers and the Nahal and Givati infantry brigades are operating with the Armored Corps, the Engineering Corps, the Maglan infiltration special unit and other elite units.