12 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza as IDF moves in on Hamas

The Israeli army announced that 10 more soldiers have been killed in Gaza, bringing the total death toll to 12. 

The nine soldiers were killed when an anti-tank missile hit their vehicle inside Gaza on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the first to Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza were announced.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant issued a statement on Wednesday morning, saying the deaths of IDF soldiers in the battles against Hamas terrorists in Gaza are a “hard and painful blow.”

“Our hearts and thoughts are with their dear families. Unfortunately, the significant achievements of the powerful fighting deep in the Gaza Strip exacts a heavy price. We are prepared and ready for a long and complex campaign that requires courage, determination and perseverance.”

The IDF said it struck over 11,000 Hamas targets in Gaza since the beginning of the war, the mos recent being the large Jabaliya refugee camp, where a senior Hamas commander was said hiding.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the army “eliminated the Commander of the Jabaliya Battalion, Ibrahim Biari. He was a murderous commander who was  responsible for a significant area from which the terrorists emerged to carry out the massacre in Israel on October 7th, but beyond his leadership of that, he was a senior terrorist who has been the dominant leader of their military activity during this war in northern Gaza. We have killed him.”

“He was killed while situating himself inside the Jabaliya Camp – with dozens of additional terrorists around him in the same area – which contains a headquarters and other operational facilities located in buildings within the civilian camp. The strike caused the collapse of the buildings compound within the civilian camp. The strike on the compound additionally caused the collapse of the underground military infrastructure, including terror tunnels under the camp, which further caused the collapse of additional structures,” he added.

The army said some 50 terrorists had been killed in the strike at the camp, a claim Hamas denied. Hundreds were said injured in the strike, according to Hamas.

The strike was harshly condemned by Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which called it “inhumane,” but the IDF insisted it stuck with its overall goal, which is to strike Hamas headquarters, most of which are located underneath or in civilian buildings.

On Wednesday, the Rafah border crossing opened for some 81 wounded Palestinians to cross from Gaza in to Egypt to get medical treatment, while  a number of foreign nationals or dual citizenship holders were allowed to leave as well.

This comes after Israel and Egypt agreed to allow more trucks with humanitarian aid in to Gaza, as Israel expands its ground offensive in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

More than 66 trucks with aid entered Gaza on Monday, and the number of daily trucks allowed to cross from Egypt will be raised to 100, according to both Israeli and American media reports. More than 171 aid trucks have entered Gaza so far, following intense pressure by the U.S. and EU.

As the ground offensive in Gaza continued to expand, Israel’s northern and southern borders have come increasingly under attack. Houthi rebels from Yemen fired missiles and drones at Eilat, but were shot down by Israel’s Arrow missile defence system.

The Houthi rebels, which is an Iranian proxy, vowed to continue attacking Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues. Israel responded by sending its navy to the Red Sea to provide “significant defence of the area and layered strike capabilities with defensive layers and the air force.”

“We are prepared to defend this arena as in every arena in Israel. We know how to gather at the time and place of our choosing in relations to the security interests of Israel wherever needed,” IDF spokesperson said.

In the north, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israel, causing the IDF to carry out numerous airstrikes against Hezbollah cells in the past week.

IDF also carried out airstrikes against targets in Syria in response to rockets fired at Israel.

The IDF identified the soldiers as; Lieutenant Pdaya Mark, 22, from the West Bank settlement of Otniel, Staff Sgt. Roei Wolf from Ramat Gan and Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz from Modi’inl, Halel Solomon, 20, from Dimona; Erez Mishlovsky, 20, from Oranit; Adi Leon, 20, from Nili; Ido Ovadia, 19, from Tel Aviv; Lior Siminovich, 19, from Herzliya; and Roei Dawi, 20, from Jerusalem, Ariel Reich, 24, from Jerusalem; Asif Luger, 21, from Yagur and Adi Danan, 20, from Yavne.