Another Israeli officer seriously injured in Gaza, military says

By Khaled Yousef and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) – An Israeli officer was seriously wounded in central Gaza on Tuesday, shortly after Hamas claimed an attack on an Israeli tank, the army said.

A military statement said that the injured officer was a cyber operations specialist from the Golani Brigade.

Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said early Tuesday that its fighters had shelled a Merkava tank in the southeast of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Despite more than 21 months since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Palestinian resistance factions continue to conduct well-planned ambushes in the area, inflicting casualties on Israeli forces, showcasing Tel Aviv’s inability to achieve its war objectives.

Israel maintains strict censorship on reporting its military losses in Gaza and has not published an updated toll for its dead and wounded, prompting speculation that actual figures may be significantly higher.

The Israeli army said early Tuesday that two soldiers were killed and two others injured in Gaza in the last 24 hours.

According to Israeli military figures, at least 895 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 6,110 injured since the start of the Gaza war.

Israel has killed more than 59,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.