Deadly push: Israeli toll rises in southern Gaza

Shafaq News/ Two Israeli soldiers were killed and four others wounded during military operations in southern Gaza, the Israeli military reported on Friday.

The two soldiers were identified as Yishai Eliakim Orbach and Yam Farid. The four wounded were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The incident occurred amid ongoing combat near the city of Rafah, where Israeli forces have increased their presence this week.

Hamas reported heavy clashes with Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip, particularly near Rafah. Its fighters, the group noted, remain present in areas now under expanded Israeli control.

Later, Hamas announced an ambush on a 12-member Israeli unit inside a house in the Al-Tannour neighborhood of eastern Rafah. Two projectiles, anti-personnel and anti-armor, were fired, causing multiple casualties.

Israeli troops began pushing into Rafah earlier in the week, describing it as one of Hamas’s last remaining strongholds in Gaza. While significant, the current mobilization remains smaller in scale than the major campaign launched after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 200 taken hostage.

Since then, Israel has carried out an extensive military campaign in Gaza, leaving at least 52,495 Palestinians dead—many of them women and children—and over 118,365 injured.