A Sikorsky UH-60A Yanshuf 3 helicopter operated by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) 123 Squadron crashed in the Philadelphi Corridor near Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
The helicopter was on a mission to evacuate a severely wounded IDF soldier from combat in Rafah when it went down while attempting to land at a helipad.
The crash claimed the lives of three onboard, with eight others sustaining injuries. Four of the injured are reported to be in serious condition. The helicopter sustained substantial damage, though it did not fall from a great height as it was in its final descent phase before landing.
“An initial inquiry conducted indicates that the crash was not caused by enemy fire,” the IDF said in a statement. “Following the incident, the Commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, appointed an IAF investigative committee to examine the circumstances of the incident.”
Despite the loss, the IDF has confirmed that operations are continuing as usual.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a narrow strip of land along the Gaza Strip and Egypt border. It runs for about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) and separates the city of Rafah in Gaza from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
After the withdrawal of Israeli settlements and troops from Gaza in 2005, it was designated as a demilitarized border zone. However, in March 2024, the Israeli military took control of it.
The Sikorsky UH-60A Yanshuf 3 is the Israeli variant of the US-made Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, a multirole helicopter used primarily for troop transport, medical evacuation, and combat support. Yanshuf, which means “Owl” in Hebrew, is the name the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) assigned to their version of the Black Hawk after they began acquiring and modifying these helicopters in the early 1990s.