JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said four soldiers were injured Wednesday in a clash with Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza Strip, where a ceasefire has largely halted fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The US-brokered ceasefire which came into effect on October 10 remains fragile, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms.
The Israeli military said that during an operation in the area of eastern Rafah on Wednesday, soldiers encountered several militants “who emerged from an underground terrorist infrastructure.”
“During the encounter, an (Israeli) combat soldier was severely injured, two additional combat soldiers and a non-commissioned officer were moderately injured,” the military said in a statement.
It added that the soldiers were evacuated to hospital for medical treatment, and their families had been notified.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli premier sent his “wishes for a speedy recovery to our heroic soldiers,” accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.
A security source in Gaza told AFP that at around 4pm local time (1400 GMT), “very heavy artillery shelling took place from occupation vehicles east of Rafah city, along with heavy gunfire from warplanes.”
The source added that an Israeli helicopter had also landed in the area.
The military said Sunday that it had killed more than 40 militants over the past week in operations targeting tunnels near Rafah, where dozens of Hamas fighters are holed up beneath areas controlled by the Israeli military.
Multiple sources told AFP last week that negotiations were underway regarding the fate of the fighters still in south Gaza’s tunnel network.
On Thursday, a prominent Hamas member in Gaza told AFP that the group estimated their number to be between 60 and 80.
The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people.
Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed at least 70,117 people, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
The ministry says since the ceasefire came into effect, 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. Israel’s military has reported three soldiers killed during the same period.
Israel army says four soldiers injured in clash with Gaza militants
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Israel army says four soldiers injured in clash with Gaza militants
- The Israeli military said soldiers encountered several militants “who emerged from an underground terrorist infrastructure“
- The soldiers were evacuated to hospital for medical treatment, and their families had been notified
Hamas says will give up arms to a Palestinian authority ‘if occupation ends’
- “We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya says
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas said Saturday it was ready to hand over its weapons in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian authority governing the territory on the condition that the Israeli army’s occupation ends.
“Our weapons are linked to the existence of the occupation and the aggression,” Hamas chief negotiator and its Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement, adding: “If the occupation ends, these weapons will be placed under the authority of the state.” Asked by AFP, Hayya’s bureau said he was referring to a sovereign and independent Palestnian state.
“We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya added, signalling his group’s rejection of the deployment of an international force in the Strip whose mission would be to disarm it.
