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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that a soldier was killed and another 13 were wounded on March 6 during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip.
The soldier was a Staff Sergeant from the Oketz canine unit. His death brought the toll of slain Israeli troops in ground operations in the Palestinian enclave to 247.
According to the IDF, 12 other troops were wounded in the same battle against Hamas fighters in southern Gaza, five of whom sustained serious injuries.
The troops, of the Oketz unit and Commando Brigade, had raided a multi-story building in the Hamad Town residential complex in the city of Khan Younis, when several Hamas fighters ambushed them, the IDF said, adding that the soldiers were hit by gunfire, rocket-propelled grenades and an explosive device. Several of the Hamas fighters were killed by the troops and in airstrikes in the area.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed on March 7 that its fighters ambushed an IDF unit in the Hamad Town a day earlier. The group said that some 20 Israeli troops were killed or wounded, without providing any further details.
In a separate incident on March 6, another soldier of the IDF’s Commando Brigade was seriously wounded during fighting in southern Gaza.
The IDF has been also facing fierce resistance in northern Gaza. On March 7, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, released video footage showing its fighters ambushing an entire IDF convoy in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood with explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades.
Israeli ground operations in Gaza slowed down in recent days as the indirect talks with Hamas made some progress. An agreement that includes a lengthy ceasefire and the release of some Israeli hostages and Palestinian captives may be near.
Still, the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli war continues to rise. The Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on March 7 that 30,800 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Strip since the outbreak of the war, with more than 72,298 others wounded.
