The Israeli military has today, Thursday, announced the deaths of two officers and one soldier as well as the serious injury of five other soldiers, including one armored corps officer, during combat operations in the south of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, clashes have resumed in Jabaliya amid continuous Israeli airstrikes in various parts of the strip and a second consecutive day of communication blackouts.
The military did not provide further details regarding the circumstances of the battles which led to the casualties of its soldiers.
With these deaths, the total number of Israeli military officers and soldiers killed since the launch of "Operation Protective Edge" on October 7 has risen to 469, including 143 since the beginning of the ground operation in the besieged enclave.
In a separate statement, the occupation forces declared that residents of towns located within four kilometers of the Gaza border could return to their homes.
The spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated yesterday that the Qassam fighters have destroyed in the last 72 hours, 41 military vehicles either completely or partially, and have also killed 25 Israeli soldiers in the sector, in addition to wounding dozens of soldiers with varying degrees of injuries.
The Qassam spokesperson emphasized that their fighters had targeted Israeli forces with mortars and IEDs and engaged in clashes from zero distance, as well as targeting rescue teams, in addition to rigging two tunnels and a house with explosives and detonating them beneath occupation soldiers, and assassinating one of the soldiers.
Renewed Clashes and Bombardment
Al Jazeera's correspondent confirmed the renewal of clashes between Palestinian resistance factions and occupation forces around the administrative site associated with the Qassam Brigades east of Jabaliya, in the northern part of the Strip. He added that Israeli fighter jets had bombed Jabaliya.
He also reported that Israeli soldiers have, since yesterday, besieged a building belonging to the Red Crescent in Jabaliya that contains paramedics and wounded individuals.
Yesterday, the Red Crescent affirmed that the siege of their ambulance center in Jabaliya comes amid constant artillery shelling around the center and the sound of explosions, while occupation snipers occupy the rooftops of surrounding buildings, posing a threat to the safety of 127 individuals, including paramedics, volunteers, and displaced families taking shelter there.
Additionally, the Al Jazeera correspondent mentioned that Israeli warplanes launched a series of strikes on several locations in the central Gaza Strip and the city of Khan Yunis to the south, resulting in the martyrdom of several citizens and the injury of others.
Yesterday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll from the Israeli aggression has surpassed 20,000 martyrs, including 8,000 children and 6,200 women, while the number of injured has exceeded 52,600.
Evacuation of Khan Yunis
The United Nations announced that the Israeli military has ordered the “immediate evacuation” of an area covering about 20% of the city of Khan Yunis, where many Palestinians displaced from the northern and central parts of the Strip have sought refuge amid the ongoing war on Gaza.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) explained that it is unclear how many people will be displaced by the evacuation order, which follows the occupation army's announcement on Monday to intensify operations in Khan Yunis.
The Israeli military identifies evacuation areas on a map published on its website. The UN office expressed regret that the ability of residents to access this information is undermined by repeated disruptions in communication and the complete lack of electricity as well.
