EIGHT Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza Strip as forces continue to advance in and around the southern city of Rafah.
Hamas had previously said its fighters had ambushed an armored personnel carrier, killing and wounding several Israeli soldiers, in the Tel Al-Sultan area, west of Rafah.
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Israeli tanks advanced on Tel Al-Sultan and shells fell in the coastal area.
Hamas claimed to have ambushed the truck, but Israeli forces say it is unclear whether the device was planted ahead of time.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its forces in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city near the border with Egypt, had captured large quantities of weapons, both above ground and hidden in the extensive network of tunnels built by Hamas.
Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to end the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months since the war began in October.
In Israeli air strikes on two houses in the suburbs of Gaza City, residents said at least 15 people were killed. Four other people were killed in separate attacks in the south, doctors said.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its forces in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city near the border with Egypt, had captured large quantities of weapons, both above ground and hidden in the extensive network of tunnels built by Hamas.
He said militants on Friday fired five rockets from the humanitarian area in central Gaza. He said two fell in open areas in Israel and three fell short in Gaza.
“This is yet another example of the cynical exploitation of humanitarian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip for their terrorist attacks,” the military said.
Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, said on Saturday that Israel could only recover its hostages in Gaza if it ended the war and withdrew its forces from the enclave.
A spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades made the remarks in a video posted on Telegram.
Islamic Jihad is a minor ally of Hamas, which led a violent attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli records.
More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, although at least 40 were declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
Since the week-long truce in November, repeated attempts to achieve a ceasefire have failed, with Hamas insisting on a permanent end to the war and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to end the war before Hamas is eradicated.
At least 37,296 Palestinians, at least 30 of them in the last 24 hours, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Hamas, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
