The Israeli military said on Wednesday that seven of its soldiers were killed by an explosive device in southern Gaza a day earlier.
This was the highest death toll in a single incident in Gaza for the Israeli military since a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March, and a reminder of the ongoing conflict in the coastal enclave two weeks after the Israel-Iran war grabbed the world’s attention.
Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the chief spokesman of the Israeli military, said the soldiers, members of a combat engineering battalion, were killed after an explosive device was placed near them in the southern city of Khan Younis on Tuesday afternoon.
“This is a difficult and painful morning for all of the people of Israel,” he said.
General Defrin described the deaths as part of a “complex” incident that was still being investigated. He added the battalion which the soldiers belonged to has been locating and demolishing tunnels and killing militants.
The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, posted on Telegram that its operatives had targeted Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis on Tuesday, but it was unclear if it was referring to the seven soldiers who were killed.
The war in Gaza began after the deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas on Israel, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and roughly 250 others were taken hostage. The Israeli military campaign has devastated Gaza, and more than 50,000 people have been killed in the enclave, according to the Palestinian health authorities.
The deadliest day for the Israeli military since the start of the war was in January 2024, when 24 soldiers were killed, including 20 in a single explosion.
While Israel and Hamas have engaged in indirect negotiations for a new cease-fire and release of hostages, they have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement.
The talks have stalled over the permanence of a new cease-fire. Hamas has insisted on a total end to the war in Gaza, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has rejected that demand, saying the dismantling of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities must be achieved first.
Palestinians in Gaza have struggled to find food, fuel and medicines amid Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods into the territory. Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza for nearly three months earlier this year. But since mid-May, it has allowed some supplies to enter through a new Israeli-backed distribution system as well as trucks hired by the United Nations and other international organizations.
The rollout of the new mechanism, which Israeli officials contend enables Palestinians to access food without Hamas benefiting, has been marred by chaos, with scores of Palestinians killed as they approach distribution sites.
Fifty hostages abducted during Hamas October 2023 are still believed to be in Gaza. About 20 of them are thought to be living, while the rest are presumed dead, according to the Israeli authorities. The hostages remain in perilous conditions, their families have said, urging their swift and safe return.
Both Palestinian civilians and families of hostages in Israel have expressed hope that the cease-fire between Israel and Iran on Tuesday will redirect attention to the negotiations on Gaza.
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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