21 Israeli Troops Killed In a Deadly Operation in Gaza
The Israeli army says 21 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza – the deadliest day for Israeli forces since the start of their ground operation.
The chief spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Daniel Hagari, said it is thought a rocket-propelled grenade hit a tank near two buildings they were in.
Hagari said the buildings exploded probably as a result of mines that Israeli forces had placed there to demolish them.
He said the soldiers, all of whom were reservists, were involved in an operation to allow residents of Southern Israel to safely return to their homes after tens of thousands were evacuated after the Hamas attack on 7 October.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it had been an “unbearably difficult morning” learning about the extent of the death toll.
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Israel launched the war with the declared aim of destroying Hamas after waves of its gunmen killed 1,300 people – mostly civilians – and took about 240 others hostage in the unprecedented attack.
The offensive has caused widespread death and destruction in Gaza, displaced an estimated 85% of the population of 2.3 million, and left one-quarter facing starvation.
Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen have meanwhile attacked American and Israeli targets in support of Palestinians.
The U.S. and Britain launched another wave of strikes Monday against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have targeted international shipping in the Red Sea.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at a strategic military installation in northern Israel for a second time this month.
Israeli reservists were preparing explosives Monday to demolish two buildings in the built-up Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza when a militant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank nearby.
The blast triggered the explosives, causing both two-story buildings to collapse on the soldiers.
At least 217 soldiers have been killed since the ground offensive began in late October, including three in a separate event Monday, according to the military.
Netanyahu acknowledged that it was one of the hardest days for Israel since the war began but vowed to keep up the offensive.
