Israeli army bulldozers appeared near Israel’s southern Gaza border on Thursday. Eight soldiers were killed in southern Gaza, the Israeli military said on Saturday, in its worst attack in months.
Ohard Zweigenberg/AP
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Ohard Zweigenberg/AP
JERUSALEM – An explosion in southern Gaza killed eight Israeli soldiers, the military said Saturday, in the worst attack on Israeli forces in months.
The attack, which comes more than eight months into a brutal war with few signs of an end soon, is likely to fuel fresh calls from Israeli protesters for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, there is widespread anger in the government over the exemption of young ultra-Orthodox men from military service.
On October 7, Hamas and other militants launched a cross-border attack that killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel launched an air and ground invasion of Gaza. The Israeli offensive, which has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, according to local health officials. It has also triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with more than 80 percent of the population displaced, and Israeli restrictions and ongoing fighting hampering humanitarian aid efforts and exacerbating widespread hunger.
Saturday’s blast occurred in the southern Israeli city of Rafah, which Israel considers Hamas’s last major stronghold. It sent ground troops to the city in early May but did not say when the operation would end.
“They knew they might have to sacrifice their lives, but they did it so that we could live in this country. I salute them and hug their families,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said at (formerly known as Twitter) posted on the website.
The explosion occurred just after 5 a.m. in the Tal Sultan area of Rafah, the military said. Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said it was caused by explosives or anti-tank missiles planted by Hamas.
“We need to defeat the Hamas Rafael Brigades and we are doing so with determination,” he said.
In January, 21 Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
President Joe Biden unveiled a new cease-fire proposal earlier this month that seeks to free the roughly 120 hostages still in Gaza and end the fighting. Despite broad international acceptance of the plan, both Israel and Hamas have expressed misgivings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not stop the war until the twin goals of destroying Hamas’s military and governance capabilities were achieved.
“Today we once again paid a heartbreaking price in our just war to defend our homeland,” Netanyahu said on Saturday. “It is with deep sorrow and aching condolences that I bow my head along with all Israeli citizens. , mourning the fall of our brave warriors.”
The fruitless war has divided the Israeli public, with tens of thousands taking to the streets every Saturday night to call on the government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home. The Israeli government has announced the deaths of more than 40 hostages held by Hamas, and officials fear the death toll may increase the longer they are held.
At a rally Saturday night, participants watched a video message from Andrei Kozlov, who was rescued from Hamas captivity a week ago.
“More than 120 hostages are still there and I can’t feel all the joy from this situation because I was rescued and they were not,” he said, according to the Hostage Family Forum headquarters. “I demand that they be rescued as soon as possible. Take it home. Israel, the world, Hamas, I beg you to make a deal as soon as possible.
The deadly blast came just days after Netanyahu’s coalition voted in favor of extending a controversial exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox men.
Although the vote was only procedural, it caused an uproar as the death toll mounted as Israel continued to battle Hamas militants in Gaza and Hezbollah militants in the country’s north on the border with Lebanon. According to the military, more than 600 soldiers have been killed in fighting since October 7.
Last month, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered an end to government subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men who are not serving in the military. But Netanyahu’s government, which includes politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties, has found ways to keep money flowing to religious institutions.
The government is still ordered to pass the new draft law.
Most Jewish men and women are required to serve in the military from the age of 18.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant was the only member of Netanyahu’s coalition to vote against this week’s legislation. Galante, a member of the country’s war cabinet, insisted that all segments of Israeli society contributed equally to the war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
If Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners leave the government, the country will be forced to hold new elections, leaving Netanyahu with low approval ratings and doubtful re-election prospects.
Months of ceasefire talks have failed to find common ground between Israel and Hamas. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas had proposed changes to the U.S.-backed plan, some of which he said were “feasible” and others not.
Hamas has repeatedly called for a permanent ceasefire and demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal to release the hostages. While the proposal announced by U.S. President Joe Biden contains both provisions, Hamas has expressed concerns about whether Israel will comply with them.
Meanwhile, violence in the West Bank has escalated since the war between Israel and Hamas began. A 16-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces near the northern city of Nablus on Saturday, the Ramallah Health Ministry said. An Israeli security official confirmed that Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians who threw rocks at troops during a counterterrorism operation in the area. He requested anonymity pending an official announcement from the military.
