Click to see full-size image. (The Times of Israel).
Six troops were killed in a blast and four others died during intense clashes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced.
The IDF said on January 9 that the six reservists, all combat engineers, were killed when explosives intended for demolishing a tunnel detonated during activity in central Gaza’s al-Bureij refugee camp. The blast took place near an alleged rocket manufacturing plant of the Hamas Movement on January 8.
The slain troops were named as Sergeant First Class Gavriel Bloom; Master Sergeant Amit Moshe Shahar; Captain Denis Krokhmalov Veksler; Captain Ron Efrimi; Master Sergeant Roi Avraham Maimon and Sergeant Major Akiva Yasinskiy.
Several others were injured in the blast. Some of whom are reportedly in a life-threatening condition, including Idan Amedi, a popular Israeli singer and actor.
The IDF also announced on January 9 that two reservists, Sergeant First Class David Schwartz and Sergeant First Class Yakir Hexter,were killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The two combat engineers were a part of a paratrooper force. Another soldier was seriously wounded in the same attack.
In another part of southern Gaza, Sergeant Roi Tal, an infantryman, was killed during a battle with Hamas fighters, the IDF said on the same day.
On January 10, the IDF announced that Sergeant First Class reservist Elkana Newlander, a combat medic in the 99th Division, was killed fighting in central Gaza. According to the IDF, a reservist from the Yiftach Brigade was seriously wounded during the battle in which Newlander was killed on January 9. The wounded soldier was brought to a hospital for treatment.
The deaths raised the toll of Israeli troops killed since the start of ground operations in Gaza to 186. Hundreds others were reportedly wounded.
IDF’s recent losses were not limited to troops. Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas military wing, announced in a video message released on January 9 that the group fighters destroyed 42 Israeli military vehicles during the past week.
Abu Obeida said that Hamas fighters also shot down a Hermes 900 drone, seized three other smaller drones, including a Skylark, and fired an anti-aircraft missile at an Israeli attack helicopter over Gaza.
Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and that of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Quds Brigade, released videos on January 9 showing recent attacks on Israeli troops in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and in Khan Younis as well as recent mortar attacks on IDF gatherings in different parts of Gaza.
In recent weeks, the IDF expanded its ground operations in central and southern Gaza. It also withdrew from large parts of the Strip’s north, but continues to maintain a strong presence there. Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are yet to produce an agreement on a temporary ceasefire.
