1 Israeli soldier killed, 4 injured in Gaza battles: Army

GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least one Israeli soldier was killed and four others seriously injured in clashes with Palestinian resistance factions in the south and north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said on Friday.

“Sergeant Oz Shmuel Erdi, 19, a soldier in the 603rd Engineering Battalion, was killed in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip,” Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported, quoting an Israeli army statement.

“An officer in the Golani Brigade and a soldier in the reserve forces in the Engineering Battalion were seriously injured during the battles in the northern Gaza Strip,” the army added.

During the fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, it said a reserve armor officer and a reserve soldier from Battalion 2855 were seriously injured.

The Israeli army did not specify the date or exact location of these battles.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army announced that eight soldiers were seriously injured during battles south and north of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army also revealed on the same day that 29 officers and soldiers were injured in battles in Gaza over the previous 24 hours.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have since been killed and 50,897 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while 135 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi