Israeli army announces 3 more soldiers killed in battles in southern Gaza

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army announced early Tuesday that three more soldiers, including a senior commander, were killed in fighting with Palestinian groups in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement cited by the Times of Israel news website, the Israeli army identified the commander as Netanel Yaacov Elkouby, 36, head of the 630th Battalion of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth announced his death late on Monday, while the other two were identified as Maj. Yair Cohen, 30, an acting company commander, and Sgt. First Class Ziv Chen, 27, from the same battalion.

At least 232 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since Israel's ground operation began on Oct. 27, bringing the army's death toll to 569 since it launched its offensive against the strip on Oct. 7.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 28,340 people and injuring 67,984 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which said in an interim ruling that South Africa's claims in a case filed in December were plausible.

In its January ruling, the court ordered provisional measures for the Israeli government to desist from genocidal acts, and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.