Israeli Black Hawk Down In Rafah, Several Dead & Injured

An Israeli Black Hawk helicopter has gone down while engaged in operations in south Gaza, which is a first of the war which has raged for over ten months.

Two soldiers were killed, and eight were injured in the crash and have been rushed to hospitals. The two deceased have been subsequently identified by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as 37-year old Sgt. Maj. Daniel Alloush of Tel Aviv and 38-year old Sgt. Maj. Tom Ish-Shalom of Nes Harim. Both were part of reserve forces.

Illustrative file image: Israeli AF

Military officials are describing it as a crash and not the result of enemy ground fire, but which resulted in serious damage to the aircraft. It happened in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. It has been identified as a UH-60 Black Hawk from the 123rd Squadron.

“According to an initial IAF probe, a UH-60 Black Hawk from the 123rd Squadron flew to Rafah with a Unit 669 medical team on Tuesday night to evacuate a combat engineer seriously wounded in fighting in the area,” Israeli media details.

“During the final landing stage inside an Israeli army encampment in Rafah at around 12:30 a.m., the helicopter impacted the ground instead of touching down correctly,” the same report continues.

If the Black Hawk had crashed in a more open area with active Hamas militants, there’s a high chance that the eight injured may not have made it out. But given it occurred within the confines of an IDF forward operating base, it appears the emergency response was immediate and rapid, perhaps saving more lives.

Aftermath of the crash, via Israeli military/TOI

Some among the wounded are said to be critical. According to more from Times of Israel based on military statements:

Among the seriously wounded in the crash were two pilots and a mechanic with the IAF’s 123rd Squadron; and a reservist doctor and another soldier with Unit 669.

Additionally, a reservist Unit 669 doctor and another mechanic with the 123rd Squadron were moderately wounded in the crash, the IDF said.

The seriously wounded combat engineer, who was supposed to be evacuated by the crashed Black Hawk, served with the 710th Combat Engineering Battalion.

It is somewhat rare for Black Hawks to crash in active war zones, and brings up images of the most famous such incident: the Black Hawk Down Incident which occurred during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993 in Somalia.

Israel Black Hawk Helicopter Crash in the Philadelphi Route Area:

The crash occurred at a very low altitude, just moments before touchdown, and at a low speed. While the exact cause of the crash remains unknown.

As a result of the crash, two IDF soldiers were killed. Eight… pic.twitter.com/eyS3UnlBfL

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The result of that historic tragedy was that 18 American troops, including elite special forces commandos, were killed, and another 84 wounded. In that instance an RPG had brought the helicopter down, and the crash survivors spent hours fending off hundreds of Somali militants.