Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Two more Israeli soldiers were killed in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on July 4.
One of the slain soldiers, a sergeant from the 53rd Armored Battalion of the 188th Brigade, was killed during combat in southern Gaza, the IDF said in a statement, adding that two other soldiers from the same battalion were seriously wounded in the same incident in the city of Khan Younis when their vehicle was hit by an “anti-tank missile.”
In another statement, the IDF said that a combat engineering soldier who served as a sergeant in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, was killed overnight during a combat-related operational accident in the northern part of the Strip.
The soldier was killed when a heavy equipment vehicle fell into a hole in Beit Hanoun, hitting a vehicle being operated by Eliyahou, according to the reported initial findings of a military probe.
The last two deaths brought the number of Israeli troops killed since the start of the large-scale offensive against the Hamas Movement in Gaza, codenamed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” to 25.
Israel launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots last month after calling up tens of thousands of reservists. The IDF said that it wants to occupy 75 percent of Gaza within the first two months of the operation. More than two million Palestinians will be crammed in three isolated small zones in the southern, central and northern parts of the Strip.
Despite facing serious resistance from the Hamas Movement and other Palestinian armed factions in Gaza, the IDF announced on July 4 that 65 percent of the Strip was under its control.
Over 100 Hamas operatives were killed over the past week, according to the military, which also revealed that it has so far struck 7,500 targets in Gaza, including weapons sites, tunnels and rocket launchers.
Despite reports of a near ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, the IDF said that its operation will continue in pursuit of its so-called “war goals.”
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