Another Israeli soldier killed during clashes with Palestinian groups in northern Gaza

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli army on Saturday announced that another of its soldiers was killed in fighting with Palestinian groups in the northern Gaza Strip.

“A 20-year-old soldier was killed in battles in the northern Gaza Strip, hailing from the city of Modi'in,” the army said in a statement.

The slain soldier was a member of Battalion 931 in the Nahal Brigade.

As many as 620 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began on Oct. 7, with another 272 killed since the start of the Israeli ground operation on Oct. 27 of last year.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip following Palestinian resistance group Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,950 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed, and nearly 78,600 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

South Africa on Friday asked the ICJ to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​