UPDATE - 2 Israeli soldiers killed, 5 injured in Gaza fighting, army says

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Ikram Kouachi and Betul Yilmaz

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Two more Israeli soldiers were killed and five others injured in fighting in the Gaza Strip, the army said on Sunday.

A military statement said that a sergeant and a soldier from the Golani Brigade were killed in a bomb explosion Saturday in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Another soldier was moderately injured in the blast, the army said.

Another military statement said two more soldiers were seriously injured in another explosion in Rafah in southern Gaza.

According to Yedioth Ahronoth daily, two others sustained light and moderate injuries in the same incident.

Despite more than 21 months since the start of the genocidal war on Oct. 7, 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.

According to military data, 895 Israeli soldiers had been reported killed and 6,134 injured since the beginning of the war in Gaza. The army faces domestic accusations of concealing higher losses.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to 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.