Battle rages in southern Strip
The toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas has risen to 104.
(TIMES OF ISRAEL) The Israel Defence Forces announced the death of seven more soldiers on Monday, six of whom were killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 104.
The announcement was made amid ongoing heavy fighting in and around Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza, and as Gaza terror groups fired more rockets into Israel, including a midday barrage at the centre of the country in which a Holon man was injured by shrapnel.
Five of the soldiers belonged to the 5th Brigade’s 8111st Battalion and were killed when an explosive device was detonated near the force as they battled a terror cell near a school in the Khan Younis area.
The IDF said helicopter gunships and fighter jets were called in to carry out strikes against the terrorists who had opened fire from the school, adding that the Hamas operatives were killed and infrastructure in the area was destroyed.
Israeli forces continued their offensive against Hamas as troops battled in the southern part of the Strip, while soldiers in the enclave’s north uncovered armaments and documentation of the devastating October 7 massacre in Israel.
As the campaign to topple the Hamas terror group stretched into a 67th day, Palestinians said IDF soldiers raided a hospital amid exchanges of fire with gunmen. At the same time, the army continued to publish what it said was evidence of Hamas fighting from residential areas, endangering civilians.
The latest day of intense battles came as attention shifted north to Israel’s border with Lebanon, which saw a sharp uptick in violence on Tuesday as rockets and drones targeted Israeli communities and military positions near the frontier, drawing reprisal shelling.
An Israeli drone strike killed four Palestinians who had hurled explosive devices toward IDF troops carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday morning, according to the army and Palestinian officials.
The IDF said it was operating in Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp to detain Palestinians suspected of involvement in terror activities.
It said there were clashes between troops and Palestinian gunmen and suspects hurling explosives at them.
Meanwhile, a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen near a key maritime choke point, authorities said on Tuesday.
The assault on the oil and chemical tanker Strinda expands a campaign by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.