TEL AVIV: The Israeli military said seven soldiers were killed in a single attack in southern Gaza on Tuesday (Jun 24), the military’s deadliest day in the territory since it broke a ceasefire with Hamas in March.
A lieutenant, three staff sergeants and three sergeants, members of a combat engineering battalion, were killed when an explosive device planted on the armoured vehicle they were travelling in ignited a fire, the military said on Wednesday.
The latest deaths are likely to increase public pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move strongly opposed by hardline members of his right-wing ruling coalition.
Public support for Netanyahu collapsed after the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel from Gaza, which exposed Israel to its deadliest security failure.
But his standing has been boosted by his surprise decision to strike Iran – a campaign widely viewed as dealing a significant blow to Israel’s longtime adversary.
Attention has shifted back to Gaza following United States President Donald Trump’s announcement of a truce between Israel and Iran that came into effect on Tuesday and continues to hold.
Moshe Gafne, a lawmaker from an ultra-Orthodox party within Netanyahu’s coalition government, on Wednesday publicly questioned why Israel was still locked in the war in Gaza.
“This is a very sad day, with seven soldiers killed in Gaza … I still don’t understand why we are fighting there. To what end?” he told a parliamentary committee.
Hamas’ military wing confirmed that it had carried out the deadly attack in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Tuesday. It said its fighters had also fired an anti-tank missile at another vehicle that came to help.
The war in Gaza has isolated Israel from many of its international partners critical of the military campaign. During the 12 days Israel was fighting Iran, more than 800 Palestinians were killed in Gaza by the Israeli military, including at least 30, among them a journalist, on Wednesday, according to local health officials.
The deadliest day for the Israeli military since the war started was in January 2024, when 24 soldiers were killed, 20 of them in a single explosion.
