IDF soldier Roee Cohen with 'Tzuk' Photo: Marina Kagan Kozokin/Channel 2 News.

During a bout of fighting in Gaza last week, an IDF soldier adopted a starving, weak dog he found wandering among the rubble.

St.-Sgt. Roee Cohen (res), 25, was part of front-line forces tasked with safely evacuating wounded soldiers out of battle.

Leading the pitiful creature into their armored vehicle, Cohen brought the animal out of the area with him, for a few days away from the fighting.

Adopting his “new best friend,” Roee named the dog “Tzuk” (Cliff), for the Hebrew name for Operation Protective Edge – Tzuk Eitan, and treated the mutt to field rations and lots of attention, according to Channel 2 News.

“He didn’t look as if he belonged to anyone, where I found him among the rubble – hungry, thirsty, in shock, and full of fleas,” Cohen said.

Cohen delivered Tzuk to an animal-rights organization in nearby rocket-battered Ashkelon, where he will remain, and heal, until his new best friend, Roee Cohen, completes his reserve duty stint.