Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
TEHRAN- The Israeli military revealed on Wednesday that four of its troops have died in the Gaza Strip, with seven others wounded.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF), under the “permit for publication” clause identified the names of the soldiers, who were ambushed by the Palestinian resistance.
They included a deputy company commander. Seven others were wounded during the ambush in the southern Gaza Strip.
The IOF further revealed that two officers and two soldiers sustained serious injuries, while two additional soldiers were moderately injured in the ambush.
Hebrew media reported that the four soldiers were killed after a previously rigged building exploded in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, noting that the Israeli military is still “investigating the explosion”.
Earlier, Palestinian media sources reported that the resistance in southern Gaza carried out a well-executed ambush against the IOF in Rafah, causing fatalities and injuries.
Amid rising casualties in Gaza, around 5,750 Palestinians have been injured in the West BankVideo footage showed the occupation army’s helicopters evacuating wounded soldiers in the aftermath of the operation.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, the IOF revealed that one of its officers serving with the Givati Brigade was seriously injured by a shell fired from a rocket-propelled grenade launcher at a Namer troop carrier in the al-Shaboura camp in Rafah.
According to the Israeli military, 343 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the regime’s ground invasions and occupation of the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of others died on October 7, 2023.
Experts say the true figure is much higher and only special cases of Israeli military fatalities are announced, in particular IOF soldiers who hold another nationality.
There have been media leaks by Israeli media opposed to the cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which have suggested a much higher casualty rate.
An Israeli media report on Wednesday said “713 soldiers have been killed” since the beginning of the ground invasions of the Gaza Strip in late October last year.
This comes as Palestinian resistance continues to engage in fierce battles with Israeli occupation forces inside the Gaza Strip for the eleventh consecutive month.
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, the al-Quds Brigades, announced that their fighters had destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank near the Adnan Abu Taha junction, east of Rafah, by detonating a highly explosive device.
The IOF committed two more massacres on Wednesday, leaving scores of Palestinians dead and injured.
According to health officials in Gaza, the IOF has killed more than 41,250 Palestinians and injured approximately 95,500 others in the besieged enclave since October 7 last year.
During the same timeframe, at least 706 Palestinians, including 159 children, 10 women, and 9 elderly have been killed in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli occupation has been accused of deliberately targeting the health sector in Gaza in order to prevent the treatment of those injured as a result of the Israeli genocide.
Since the beginning of the U.S.-backed genocidal war, the IOF has killed close to 1,000 workers through intentional strikes targeting hospitals and residential buildings.
The victims include doctors, nurses, and ambulance drivers, all of whom were trying to rescue fellow Palestinians before being killed by the IOF.