Illustrative image. (The Times of Israel)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged on May 10 that four of its soldiers were killed in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip.
The four slain soldiers were all serving in the ranks of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion. According to an initial probe by the IDF, the soldiers were killed by an explosive device or several devices while moving in an alleyway in the Zeitoun neighborhood.
Israeli troops were raiding a school complex in the Zeitoun neighborhood where the IDF spotted activities by the Hamas Movement. Weaponry and at least one tunnel were allegedly discovered in the area of the school.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad -the second largest armed faction in Gaza after Hamas-, announced during the day that its fighters blew up a field of explosive devices and landmines in a number of IDF vehicles in the Zeitoun neighborhood. This was most likely the deadly attack described in the IDF probe.
The death of the four soldiers has brought the number of Israeli troops slain since the start of ground operations in Gaza to 271. More than 1,560 others have been reportedly wounded, so far.
The deadly attack in the Zeitoun neighborhood came amid an ongoing operation by the IDF in the heavily-populated area of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Just a day earlier, the Israeli security cabinet voted to approve the expansion of the operation in Rafah, according to Hebrew media. The expansion was deemed as measured in what Israel hopes will not cross the line into what the US deems as a “major operation.”
The Axios news site on May 10 cited two sources who said that the expansion will be limited enough so as to not upset the Biden administration, while a third source warned the moves could be interpreted by the United States as a step too far.
The Israeli war on Gaza has so far claimed the lives of 34,904 Palestinians and left more than 78,514 others wounded, according to the latest update by the Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip. Most of the victims were women and children.
In addition to the high number of casualties, the Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the Strip’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.
Despite killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroying much of the Strip, Israel is yet to achieve any of the goals it set for the war.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
