RAFAH: Israel said Thursday that five of its soldiers were killed by friendly fire in a Gaza battle, as a rift emerged inside the war cabinet on how the Palestinian territory should be ruled in future.
After more than seven months since Hamas’s initial attack on October 7, Israeli forces engaged Palestinian militants in various parts of Gaza, including the southern Rafah region and new conflict zones in the north and center.
According to the Israeli army, the five soldiers lost their lives when two tanks accidentally fired shells at the building they were occupying during clashes in the northern Jabalia refugee camp on Wednesday.
“The incident resulted in the tragic loss of five soldiers from the 202nd Paratrooper Battalion, with seven others sustaining injuries,” stated the military.
Renewed heavy fighting erupted in the north following warnings from the army about Hamas’s efforts to rebuild its military capabilities, despite Israel’s earlier claims of dismantling local militant command structures.
Reports from AFP correspondents, witnesses, and medical personnel confirmed Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight, targeting areas in Gaza City, the southern Zeitun district, Jabalia, and the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military’s primary focus remained on Rafah, near the Egyptian border, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an offensive, disregarding US concerns about the potential harm to over a million civilians seeking refuge there.
Netanyahu defended the operation on Wednesday, stating, “We must take the necessary actions,” and asserting that mass evacuations had prevented a feared humanitarian crisis.”
