21 Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza Combat

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.

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Daniel Hagari, said it is believed that a rocket-propelled grenade hit a tank near two buildings they were in.

He said the buildings exploded probably as a result of mines that Israeli forces had placed there to demolish them. The IDF says it is still investigating the details of the incident.

The incident took place in central Gaza, close to the kibbutz of Kissufim on the Israeli side of the border at around 16:00 (14:00 GMT) on Monday, Hagari said.

Soldiers killed in Gaza were mostly reservists

Hagari said the soldiers, most of whom were reservists, were involved in an operation to allow for residents of southern Israel to safely return to their homes after tens of thousands were evacuated following the Hamas attack on October 7th.

Prior to the incident on Monday, the military said 198 Israeli soldiers had died since operations in Gaza began. 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.

“On behalf of the entire nation, I console the families and pray for the healing of the wounded,” he said.

Israel intensifies ground operations

The Israeli military’s large-scale bombing campaign in Gaza has been ongoing since the October 7th murder and kidnapping rampage by Hamas gunmen that saw some 1,200 people killed in Israel and more than 240 taken hostage, more than 130 of whom are still in captivity, alive or dead.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military’s main focus has been in southern Gaza, with intense fighting around the city of Khan Younis. On Monday, the IDF said it was deepening ground operations to the west of the city.

“The IDF is fighting a terrorist organization that embeds itself in the civilian population, and skilled and experienced units are working to dismantle the Hamas military framework, while staying aware of the complexity of the task, given that Hamas systematically embeds itself in sites such as hospitals and schools,” the IDF said.

Medical facilities in the city have been battered amid an Israeli assault in the area on Monday, Palestinian health officials said, as the number of people killed in Israel’s siege on Gaza continues to rise.

At least 25,295 people, mainly woman and children, have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.