Five Israeli Defense Force soldiers were killed and 10 others injured in an explosion in northern Gaza on Monday, the army said, bringing Israel’s death toll to 407 in more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip. .
The announcement and reports in Gaza of dozens dead in Israeli airstrikes underscored the fierce fighting still taking place in the enclave, even as Qatari negotiators are said to be close to reaching a deal that could end the war and free the hostages held there since October 7, 2023. .
The soldiers killed were all serving in the reconnaissance unit of the Nahal brigade.
They were named Cpt. Yair Yakov Shushan, 23, from Ma’alot-Tarshiha; Staff Sgt. Yahav Hadar, 20, from Kfar Tavor; Staff Sgt. Guy Karmiel, 20 years old, from Gedera; Staff Sgt. Yoav Feffer, 19, from Herzliya; and Staff Sgt. Aviel Wiseman, 20, from Poria.
On Monday evening, the IDF said it presented the families of the five soldiers with an initial investigation into the deadly incident, which revealed that the team of soldiers from the Nahal brigade reconnaissance unit left Monday morning for a mission to Beit Hanoun region.
They were inside a building preparing to use explosives for engineering activities when the explosives detonated. Following the explosion, the building the troops were in collapsed, killing all five soldiers.
Troops operating in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, in an undated photo released by the army for publication on January 12, 2025. (Israel Defense Force)
The military said the cause of the explosion was still under investigation.
The heaviest fighting in recent months has taken place in northern Gaza, where the IDF launched a new offensive in October to prevent Hamas terrorists from regrouping.
Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Gaza civil defense agency, said Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City throughout the day, hitting “schools, homes and even rallies.” of people”, killing at least 50 people.
The number could not be confirmed and Hamas officials do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in their death toll.
The civil defense agency said eleven people were killed and several others injured when an Israeli strike targeted a house in the Shejaiya neighborhood, with the rest of the town hit by other strikes in the town of Gaza throughout the day.
There was no comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian casualties and points out that Hamas uses Gaza civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
Israelis and Gazans on Monday hoped the war could end soon, as mediators in Doha were close to reaching a deal to free 98 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and end fighting in the Gaza Strip .
Among the main sticking points in the negotiations are disagreements over a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory, the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, as well as the withdrawal of troops Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave and the reopening of the Palestinian enclave. border crossings.
This photo taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows plumes of smoke rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, January 13, 2025. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
The war in Gaza erupted after the October 7 Hamas massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists cross the Israeli border by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, mostly civilians, most amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Promising to destroy Hamas and free the hostages, Israel launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza, which, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, has left more than 46,000 dead or presumed dead. in the Gaza Strip. This toll cannot be verified and makes no difference between civilians and combatants.
Israel claims to have killed some 18,000 fighters in combat in November and another 1,000 terrorists in Israel on October 7.
Agencies contributed to this report.
