Five Israeli soldiers were killed and two others seriously wounded during combat in northern Gaza on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, without offering many details about the incident.
The military identified four of the soldiers who were killed, but offered no information about their mission or who they were fighting. This follows another incident last month in the Palestinian enclave in which the Israeli military said seven of its soldiers were killed in the city of Khan Younis.
Talks are underway in Qatar to try and seal a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas and end the longest war between Israelis and Arabs since 1949. “I think we’re close to a deal on Gaza. Could have it this week,” President Trump said on Sunday.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas led an attack on Israel in October 2023, killing nearly 1,200 Israelis. Another 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza has devastated the enclave, and its forces have killed more than 50,000 people, according to the Palestinian health authorities.
While Israel and Hamas have engaged in several rounds of indirect negotiations for a new cease-fire and the release of the hostages still in Hamas captivity, they have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement.
The main issues during the current negotiations include the presence of Israeli forces in Gaza, assurances on permanently ending the war and how aid is distributed.
Hamas has demanded that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the controversial, Israeli-backed aid group, stop operating in the enclave. Israel has insisted that the group continue to hand out food so that, it says, Hamas does not benefit from the aid.
Since the foundation began operations in May, hundreds of hungry and desperate Palestinians have been killed and many others wounded on their way to collect parcels of food from its distribution sites.
Witnesses on a number of occasions have reported that Israeli troops opened fire on the approaches to the new aid hubs. The Israeli military has said repeatedly that its forces have fired “warning shots.”
Livia Albeck-Ripka is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering breaking news, California and other subjects.
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