Soldier killed in northern Gaza as IDF battles Hamas in ‘most violent’ fighting in history

An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, the army said, as troops moved deeper into Jabaliya and expanded their “operational control” in the area during the day passed.

Officers described the fighting in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, as among the most intense in the ongoing war, with Hamas operatives launching massive numbers of RPGs at tanks and armored vehicles.

The soldier killed was Sgt. Ben Avishay, 20, from the Parachute Brigade communications company, Nahariya.

During the operation in Jabaliya, led by the 98th Division, the Israel Defense Forces said their fighter jets and drones struck a weapons depot and killed several gunmen who fired mortars at troops In the region.

On Saturday evening, tanks from the 7th Armored Brigade entered Jabaliya, an area where the army had previously operated and claimed to have dismantled local Hamas battalions. However, the latest operation focused on areas deep within the Jabaliya refugee camp, which the IDF did not reach during the initial ground offensive.

The Israeli military has so far reported killing more than 200 gunmen in the area – at least 60 of whom were killed by the 7th Brigade – and estimates there could be several hundred more.

The fighting was described as “intense” and “the most violent” of the war, with numerous engagements, both on the surface and by agents using tunnels. The Jabaliya camp also has many narrow streets, making it difficult for tanks to intervene.

Agents primarily launched RPGs at tanks, but also planted explosive devices. The 7th Brigade’s Merkava tanks, equipped with the TROPHY active defense system, were largely successful in resisting RPG attacks, with only a few cases of injured soldiers, according to the army.

On Friday morning, a soldier from the 9227th Battalion of the 460th Armored Brigade was seriously injured during a battle with terrorists in Jabaliya, the army said.

He was taken to a hospital in Israel.

Hamas members also launched attacks from inside or near humanitarian shelters in Jabaliya, according to the army. The shelters have since been evacuated of civilians.

The Israeli military said troops from the 101st Parachute Battalion, operating alongside armored forces, located a rocket depot adjacent to one of the shelters. Dozens of long-range rockets and rocket parts were found at the site, the statement said.

In the adjacent shelter, around 20 suspected terrorists were arrested by troops, the Israeli army added. In total, around forty suspects have been captured in Jabaliya in recent days.

Meanwhile, on Friday, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern town of Sderot was intercepted by Iron Dome, according to the Israeli military.

Palestinian terrorists have attacked Sderot several times in recent days, as the IDF moved into Jabaliya, where residents told Reuters that Israeli armor had penetrated to the market in the heart of Jabaliya and bulldozers were demolishing homes and businesses. stores on the way. advance.

Meanwhile, in Rafah in southern Gaza, the 401st Armored Brigade of the 162nd Division located and destroyed a rocket launching position, according to the army. The Israeli military said the site was used to fire long-range rockets into Israel.

Israel says four of Hamas’s six remaining battalions are now in Rafah with hostages kidnapped in the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre, but it faces international pressure not to invade the city, where hundreds of thousands of Displaced Palestinian civilians shelter amid the ongoing war. Two other Hamas battalions remain in central Gaza, in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah camps.

The United Nations says more than 600,000 Gazans have evacuated the city since the IDF began operations last week by taking control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.

Also on Friday, the army said it had demolished a tunnel in central Gaza this week, as part of an operation in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City.

The week-long operation, led by the Nahal and Carmeli brigades, ended on Thursday. The Israeli military said troops demolished Hamas sites, including attack tunnels, weapons manufacturing sites, rocket launchers and command rooms, during this particular raid.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said Tuesday that some 150 terrorists were killed in Zeitoun.

Additionally, over the past day, the Israeli Air Force struck around 60 targets across Gaza, including buildings used by terrorist groups, weapons depots, anti-tank launch posts and other infrastructure, as well as armed men, according to the IDF.

The war in Gaza erupted after the October 7 Hamas massacre, which saw thousands of terrorists cross the border into Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 252 hostages, mostly civilians, most of them in the middle of acts of brutality and sexual assault. Israel has pledged to eliminate Hamas to ensure it no longer poses a threat, but is also involved in indirect talks with the group aimed at an extended truce and an exchange of hostages for security prisoners Palestinians.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 35,000 people have been killed or presumed dead in the fighting so far, although only 24,000 deaths have been identified in hospitals. The toll, which cannot be verified, includes some 15,000 terrorists whom Israel claims to have killed in combat. Israel also claims to have killed some 1,000 terrorists in Israel on October 7.

Two hundred and eighty Israeli soldiers were killed during the ground offensive against Hamas and during operations along the border with Gaza. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor was also killed in the Gaza Strip.

Agencies contributed to this report.