JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥 Seven Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when their armored vehicle was struck by an explosive, an Israeli military official said Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said six of the soldiers鈥 names had been cleared for publication, while one was still being kept confidential.
It was a particularly deadly incident for Israel's military inside Gaza. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack 鈥 including more than 400 during the fighting inside Gaza.
Also in the area of Khan Younis area, one soldier was seriously wounded Tuesday by weapons fire, the military said.
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas鈥檚 military wing, said on its Telegram channel it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in southern Gaza Strip.
Some of the soldiers were killed and other injured after they were targeted by a Yassin 105 missile and another missile south Khan Younis, Hamas said. Al-Qassam fighters then targeted the building with machine guns.
It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were the same.
The deadly attack came as the Palestinian death toll inside Gaza crossed the 56,000 mark.
Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry said Tuesday that Israel鈥檚 21-month military operation in Gaza has killed 56,077 people.
Hamas in its 2023 attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others . Many hostages have been released by ceasefire or other agreements.
The death toll is by far the highest in any round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The ministry doesn鈥檛 distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead were women and children.
The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire.
Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, which operates in heavily populated areas. Israel says over 20,000 Hamas militants have been killed, though it has provided no evidence to support that claim. Hamas has not commented on its casualties.
Also Wednesday, Israeli police said they were investigating the death of a woman from east Jerusalem who was pronounced dead at a checkpoint after arriving with 鈥渟erious penetrating injuries.鈥
captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war in a move not internationally recognized. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
