Israeli officer killed, 3 seriously wounded in northern Gaza fighting: Military

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army announced Wednesday that one officer was killed and three others were seriously wounded in fighting in northern Gaza.

“Captain Elay Elisha Lugasi, 21, from Kiryat Shmona, a Team Commander in the 75th Battalion and 7th Sa’ar Golani Brigade, was killed during combat in the northern Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.

According to the statement, three other soldiers from the battalion were seriously wounded in the same battle.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that the casualties resulted when the officers were targeted by an anti-tank missile in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.

This brings the death toll of the Israeli army since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 last year to 676 officers and soldiers, 322 of whom were killed since the start of ground operations in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, according to the army.

Another 4,049 Israeli officers and soldiers have been wounded since the start of the war, including 2,057 during the ground operation, according to the data.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala