By Said Amori
JERUSALEM (AA) – At least three Israeli soldiers were killed in a barrage of rocket fire from the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, targeting a military site near the illegal settlement of Kerem Shalom on the border with the Gaza Strip.
“Three soldiers were killed during the attack near Kerem Shalom today, and three others were seriously wounded,” the Israeli army said in a brief statement.
Nine other soldiers suffered injuries ranging from minor to moderate, according to Israel’s Channel 13.
With the latest casualties, the number of Israeli officers and soldiers killed since the outbreak of the war last October has risen to 611, including 266 since the start of the ground battles on Oct. 27 last year.
Meanwhile, 3,344 officers and soldiers have been wounded, including 1,609 since the start of the ground operation, according to Israeli army data on its official website.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army announced that the Kerem Abu Salem area had been targeted, leading to the closure of the crossing there for the passage of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Al-Qassam Brigades said early Sunday that they had targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers near the Kerem Shalom settlement with short-range missiles.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala