Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged on July 4 that one of its soldiers was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.
The soldier was killed in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, according to the IDF, who said that he was reportedly serving in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion. His death brought Israel’s toll ground operations against the Hamas Movement and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza and along its border to 325.
Separately, a reservist serving with the Alexandroni Brigade was seriously wounded in the central part of Gaza, the IDF added.
The IDF has been facing fierce resistance in Shejaiya and other parts of Gaza. On July 4, Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and that of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Quds Brigades, released videos of some of their recent attacks.
The videos show a number of recent mortar and rocket attacks that mainly targeted IDF gatherings in Shejaiya as well as an attempt to shoot down an Israeli AH-64 Apache attack helicopter with man-portable air defense systems over Gaza City.
Despite taking some losses, the IDF continues to hammer Gaza, causing more civilian casualties. The Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip reported over 50 deaths on July 4. Most of the victims were reportedly women and children.
“Israeli forces killed 58 people and injured 179 others in four ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement. “Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.”
According to the ministry, the latest deaths brought the overall Palestinian toll from the war on the Strip to 38,011 with more than 87,445 others wounded.
Earlier this week, Hebrew and Arab media both reported a breakthrough in the indirect talks on the war between Israel and Hamas after the last proposed a more acceptable deal draft that would lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages taken to the Strip during the October 7 surprise attack.
While Israel has sent high-level negotiators to Doha to study the draft, it could eventually make more demands and sabotage the talks as it had done in the past.
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