(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Israeli military says five of its soldiers have been killed after Palestinian fighters detonated explosive devices during an operation in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoon area.
Israeli forces killed at least 54 Palestinians in dawn raids on Tuesday, medical sources reported, as pressure mounted on Israel to strike a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
The Israeli military said the five soldiers, aged between 20 and 28, “fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip”, while 14 others sustained injuries – two of them “severely wounded”.
Since Israel launched its war on Hamas in October 2023, at least 887 of its soldiers have been killed.
Tuesday’s deaths came two weeks after Israel reported one of its deadliest days in months in Gaza, when seven soldiers were killed after a bomb was attached to their armoured vehicle.
Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said the latest attack was “an additional blow … in an area the occupation thought was safe,” warning that the group would “inflict additional losses” on the Israeli military “every day”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented a “difficult morning” as he visited Washington, DC, for talks with United States President Donald Trump, as the two leaders discussed forced relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza.
Last week, Trump said Israeli and Hamas negotiators holding indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar could reach a deal this week.
The bloodshed in Gaza increases the pressure on Netanyahu to agree to the current US-backed proposals for a 60-day ceasefire to halt the 22-month offensive. Israeli polls have shown widespread support for ending the war.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X: “For the sake of the fighters, for the sake of their families, for the sake of the hostages, for the sake of the State of Israel: this war must be ended.”
