TEHRAN - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) confirmed on Friday that two sergeants were killed during battles in the Gaza Strip, while eight others were injured, three of whom sustained serious injuries.

Both of the Israeli officers killed were from the Alexandroni Brigade’s 9203rd Battalion, based in Tel Aviv. They died after coming under a motor attack in central Gaza. 

With these latest casualties, the death toll of Israeli soldiers (announced by Israeli media under strict censorship) has risen to 664, while thousands of others have been wounded since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Data from the Israeli Ministry of Security reveals the number of disabled soldiers since October 7, 2023, who are being treated in rehabilitation departments, exceeded 70,000 for the first time, after 8,663 wounded soldiers enrolled in medical programs.

Information from the Israeli Medical Conference shows that more than 1,000 wounded soldiers are admitted every month for treatment in rehabilitation departments, and that 35% of the disabled in the occupation army suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Palestinian resistance continues to inflict heavy human losses on the IOF in various battlefronts. 

In a statement, the armed wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam brigades, reported that its fighters managed to prepare for a well-planned ambush against an Israeli armored force, using a large explosive device, which was planted under the convoy after monitoring its operations for several days. 

The operation took place on al-Bahr street, south of the Tal Al-Sultan refugee camp, in western Rafah.

The al-Qassam brigades added that when the force passed and a Merkava tank was positioned above the mine, the device was detonated, leading to the tank’s complete destruction and the killing of its crew. 

Israeli operations to evacuate the remains of dead soldiers and the tank’s wreckage continued for several hours, according to Hamas. 

Two Merkava tanks were targeted with Al-Yassin 105 shells in Rafah’s al-Shaboura camp. The RPG grenade has proven a valuable weapon against Israeli tanks throughout the war. 

Al-Qassam published footage on its Telegram page of its fighters targeting IOF vehicles and destroying them with mortar shells in Rafah.

The armed wing of Hamas also bombarded an IOF command and control site east of the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City with heavy-caliber mortar shells, causing direct hits among the occupation regime’s ranks.

The resistance fighters monitored the landing of Black Hawk and Sikorsky CH-53 Yas’ur helicopters that evacuated the dead and wounded.

This week, the American news broadcaster, CBS News, cited a U.S. official as saying, “The Israelis have not come close to achieving their objective of destroying Hamas,” and criticized Tel Aviv’s current strategy as “a recipe for continuous war”. 

Hundreds of fighters and miles of unexplored tunnels remain, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is still at large, the American official added. 

The comments came a day after the Israeli military’s top spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, said that Hamas could not be destroyed. 

In a reflection of the conflicting views between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli military on how to proceed in Gaza, Hagari said in an interview “the idea that we can destroy Hamas or make Hamas disappear is misleading to the public”.