Illustrative image.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on March 2 that three of its soldiers were killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip a day earlier.
The soldiers were serving in the ranks of the 450th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade -the IDF’s School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders in wartime-. The brigade entered Gaza earlier this week to replace the Paratroopers Brigade, which had been withdrawn after three straight months of fighting in the city of Khan Younis.
A blast in a booby-trapped building in Khan Younis claimed the lives of the soldiers, the IDF said in a statement, adding that 14 other troops were wounded in the attack. Six of the wounded remain in a serious condition.
The troops had raided a two-story structure, which was booby-trapped with explosive devices both inside and outside the building, according to an initial IDF probe.
The troops that entered the building were hit by two explosive devices, leading to two soldiers being trapped inside. The Air Force’s search and rescue Unit 669 was then dispatched to the scene. The IDF said that several fighters of the Hamas Movement were killed by troops in the area during the incident.
The IDF’s 98th Division is investigating the way the troops scanned the building, the way in which the explosives were planted and other circumstances surrounding the deadly incident.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced on March 2 that its fighters had blown up a building occupied by the IDF in the al-Satar area in northern Khan Younis. However, it is not clear yet if this was the attack that claimed the lives of the three Israeli soldiers.
On the same day, the group released video footage showing its fighters shelling IDF gatherings with mortars and targeting several Israeli main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and bulldozers with rocket-propelled grenades in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood in the northern part of the Strip.
Another video released by the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, showed an attack with a 107 mm rocket at a fortified Israeli position near the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Including the last three casualties, the IDF has lost 245 troops since the start of ground operations in Gaza. More than 1,400 others have been reportedly wounded. Some troops are still in a life-threatening condition.
On the Palestinian side, Israeli operations have so far claimed the lives of 30,410 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest update by the Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip. The ministry also said that the number of wounded has exceeded 71,700.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas made some progress in recent days. A ceasefire agreement that includes the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza and Palestinian captives from Israel may be announced soon, according to several reports.
