By Mustafa Habboush
ISTANBUL (AA) – The Israeli army on Wednesday announced that eight of its troops, including commanders, were killed in battles in the northern Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
Three other soldiers were seriously wounded, the Israeli army said in a statement.
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN named the Israeli troops killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, including Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, 35, commander of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, Maj. Roei Meldasi, 23, a company commander in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, and Maj. Moshe Avram Bar On, 23, a company commander in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion.
The Times of Israel news website cited a military source that said seven of the eight troops were killed in a series of blasts while searching buildings in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya.
The new deaths bring the army's death toll in the ground offensive since late Oct. to 113.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity, according to official figures.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar