Two soldiers killed in Gaza as IDF leaves Jabaliya and heads towards central Rafah

Israeli soldiers withdrew from the Jabaliya refugee camp on Friday, capping an operation to eliminate Hamas-led fighters who had holed up in northern Gaza, as troops pushed a targeted offensive deeper into the city from Rafah, in southern Gaza, the army announced Friday. .

Two Israeli soldiers were killed during the intense fighting, the Israeli army said, as the death toll during the seven-month ground campaign approaches 300.

The Army announced that Sgt. First Class (res.) Adar Gavriel, 24, of the 6828th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade, was killed in Jabaliya, where troops have been fighting for three weeks against Hamas cells clustered in the town’s historic refugee camp, a area that the army had not reached before.

According to an initial IDF investigation, the Caesarea native was hit by a grenade thrown by a terrorist from a building while troops were monitoring the area. The soldiers killed the agent shortly after.

Sgt. Yehonatan Elias, 20, of the Givati ​​Brigade reconnaissance unit, was killed in fighting in Rafah, where Israel says it is engaged in a “precise” and “intelligence-driven” offensive against the last major bastion of the Hamas terrorist group.

The Jerusalemite was killed during a battle that also left a Givati ​​officer seriously injured, the army said.

Their deaths bring to 294 the number of soldiers killed during the IDF ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and during operations along the border. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor was also killed in the Gaza Strip.

Gavriel was the 10th Israeli soldier killed in the Jabaliya operation, five of whom died as a result of a single “friendly fire incident.”

The Israeli army entered Jabaliya earlier this month for the third time since the war, as part of an operation launched to drive out Hamas fighters trying to reestablish themselves in northern Gaza and following new intelligence obtained by the Israeli army from the bodies of Israeli hostages held there. .

During the 20-day operation, which ended early Friday morning, the army said it killed hundreds of terrorists, recovered the bodies of seven slain Israeli hostages and demolished major tunnels.

The Palestinians announced the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Jabaliya on Thursday, although the army denied the claim at the time.

IDF officers described the fighting in Jabaliya as among the most intense of the war. The Jabaliya refugee camp is one of the most densely built-up areas in Gaza, and troops have come under heavy RPG fire from Hamas members.

The Israeli military said Hamas transformed Jabaliya’s civilian infrastructure into “a fortified combat complex,” opened fire on troops from schools and other sites where civilians were sheltering, and built networks of tunnels under civil buildings. A video released by the army shows the entrance to a tunnel inside a school in Jabaliya.

According to the military, some 120 anti-tank projectiles were launched at troops, along with dozens of other incidents involving planted explosive devices, sniper fire and drones that dropped bombs.

On the ground, the division’s 7th, 460th and parachute brigades killed hundreds of armed men during “intense fighting” and destroyed dozens of sites belonging to terrorist groups, the Israeli military said.

The Israeli army estimates it killed around 500 to 600 terrorists during the operation in Jabaliya. Only 350 have been verified so far, following fighting and airstrikes.

More than 200 airstrikes were carried out near ground forces during the operation, killing gunmen including Hamas field commanders, the Israeli military said.

Hundreds of weapons, as well as several weapons manufacturing sites and several rocket launchers, were located and destroyed by troops during the operation, the Israeli military said.

Underground, some 12 kilometers of Hamas tunnels were demolished by combat engineers after troops attacked underground networks, the army said.

In a network of tunnels, troops recovered the bodies of Ron Benjamin, Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila, Orión Hernández Radoux, Hanan Yablonka and Michel Nisenbaum. All seven were assassinated by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and their bodies were taken to Gaza, according to the Israeli military.

In another tunnel in Jabaliya, the commander of Hamas’s Beit Hanoun battalion, Hussien Fiad, along with several other members, were killed by special forces.

Two Hamas attack tunnels were also demolished during the operation. The tunnels reached approximately 500 meters from the Israeli border, according to IDF assessments.

The 98th Division was now to have time to rest, train, and review plans for future operations in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the army said it was continuing its operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, confirming for the first time that it was operating in the center of the city a day after tanks were reported in the region.

The Israeli military said troops from the Commando and Givati ​​brigades, operating in central Rafah, located rocket launchers, tunnel shafts and weapons caches used by Hamas.

In other areas of Rafah, including the eastern part of the city and along the so-called Philadelphia Corridor that runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, the IDF said other forces from the 162nd Division have located long-range rockets as well as additional weapons and military equipment. .

On Wednesday, the IDF said it had established “operational control” over the entire corridor, discovering dozens of rocket launchers and at least 20 cross-border tunnels.

Also in the Rafah region, the army announced Friday that a member of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force had been killed in a drone strike.

Strikes were carried out against “many” additional targets across Gaza over the past day, including weapons depots, buildings used by terrorist groups and gunmen’s cells, the Israeli military added .

Despite a growing wave of international criticism of the operation, the Israeli military claimed that Rafah was the last major Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, and suggested that many of the remaining hostages captured by the group terrorist on October 7 could be detained in the city. .

The war broke out on October 7 when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed communities and military positions in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 252 hostages, including a certain number of bodies.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 36,000 people have been killed or presumed dead in the fighting so far, although only 22,000 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.