Israeli army says 1 soldier killed, 13 injured in Gaza battles

JERUSALEM

An Israeli soldier was killed and 13 others were injured, including six seriously, in battles in the southern Gaza Strip, the army said Wednesday.

“David Sasson, 21, a soldier in the Oketz unit (which relies on dogs in many of its activities), fell in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip,” it said.

It added that “three soldiers from a commando unit and two from the Oketz unit were seriously injured (in the same battle).”

Additionally, seven other soldiers were injured in the same battle, according to the statement.

Another soldier from the commando unit was seriously injured in a separate battle in the southern Gaza Strip.

“The wounded soldiers were transferred to receive medical treatment at a hospital and their families were notified,” it added

With the latest causalities, the toll of declared army fatalities since the beginning of the war has risen to 587 soldiers and officers, including 247 since the beginning of the ground attack on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, 2023.

The number of injured soldiers has risen to 3,053 officers and soldiers, including 1,467 since the beginning of the ground attack, according to army data.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala