Five IDF Soldiers Killed, 14 Injured By Roadside Bomb In Northern Gaza

Five Israeli soldiers were killed overnight while 14 others were injured by a roadside bomb  in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun last night, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday. Among the 14 wounded, two are listed in serious condition.

Health officials in Gaza stated that Israeli strikes at two locations in the territory killed 18 people.

According to Israeli media, the incident occurred while the infantry soldiers were on a patrol, during which explosive devices were detonated against them. In response, reinforcements were dispatched to evacuate the dead and wounded, however reinforcements efforts were hindered.

The infantry soldiers were hit by a bomb planted on the side of a road shortly after 10 P.M. on Monday, during ground operations in Beit Hanoun. The soldiers were operating on foot, and were not inside a vehicle.

The recent act of violence comes as both Israel and Hamas consider the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal aimed at pausing the 21-month-long conflict in the region. 

This latest attack, which resulted in the deaths of several Israeli soldiers, followed approximately two weeks after seven Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza after a Palestinian attacker attached an explosive device to their armoured vehicle, causing a blast. 

Amid this, Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Palestinian territory where victims of the Israeli strikes were taken, stated that one of the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza which killed four people. 

A separate strike in Khan Younis killed four people, including a mother, father, and their two children.

In central Gaza, Israeli strikes hit a group of people, killing 10 people and injuring 72 others, according to a statement by Awda Hospital in Nuseirat.

In a statement, Netanyahu sent his condolences for the deaths, saying the soldiers fell “in a campaign to defeat Hamas and to free all of our hostages.”

With inputs from AP.