IDF announces soldier killed in north Gaza, as operations expand in Khan Younis
Toll of slain troops in ground offensive against Hamas rises to 168; sirens sound in largely evacuated Gaza border towns; soldiers spot Hamas operative in tunnel shaft with RPG
The Israel Defense Forces on Friday announced the death of a soldier who was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, as the military offensive against the Hamas terror group continued to expand in the southern city of Khan Younis and rocket sirens sounded in nearby Gaza border communities Friday mid-day.
The fallen soldier was named as Cpt. (res.) Harel Sharvit, 33, of the 551st Brigade’s 7008th Battalion, from Kochav Yaakov.
His death brought the toll of slain troops since the start of the ground offensive against Hamas in late October to 168.
Troops have been deepening their operations in Khan Younis in southern Gaza this past week. The IDF said on Friday that in one incident soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade spotted a Hamas operative coming out of a tunnel shaft with an RPG, and in response threw grenades at him and into the tunnel. The paratroopers also identified Hamas gunmen inside a building and directed tank shelling against them, the IDF added.
Also in Khan Younis, troops of the 7th Armored Brigade identified a Hamas operative some 100 meters from them, and directed a drone strike against him, the IDF said.
In a separate incident, the soldiers identified a group of Hamas gunmen in a building and directed a fighter jet to carry out a strike, it added.
Meanwhile in northern Gaza, the IDF said the 460th Armored Brigade killed dozens of Hamas gunmen in a number of battles, including with airstrikes, sniper fire, machine gun fire and tank shelling. In one incident, the IDF said an aircraft identified an RPG-wielding Hamas operative running toward the troops, who opened fire and killed him.
In Jabaliya, the 261st Brigade (the Bahad 1 officers’ school in wartime) searched the home of a Hamas operative, locating weaponry and Hamas documents, the IDF statement added.
In addition, sirens sounded around noon on Friday in the Gaza border communities of Holit, Nir Yitzhak and Sufa, which are still largely evacuated since Hamas’s deadly October 7 attacks, when some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 hostages — mostly civilian — under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.
In response to the shock attacks, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas, and launched a wide-scale offensive in Gaza aimed at destroying the terror group’s military and governance capabilities, which has continued in the Strip since late October.
The military campaign in Gaza has come under international rebuke for its mounting death toll and the resulting humanitarian crisis in the densely populated coastal enclave.
Also Friday, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees claimed that an aid convoy returning from northern Gaza on a route designated for humanitarian aid had come under fire by the Israeli military.
“Our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage,” UNRWA’s director in Gaza, Thomas White, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
#Gaza – Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from Northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli Army – our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage – aid workers should never be a target.@UNRWA
— Thomas White (@TomWhiteGaza) December 29, 2023
The IDF said it was looking into the report.
Earlier Friday, the IDF said that it was advancing in southern Gaza’s Khuza’a, on the outskirts of Khan Younis, with troops of the 5th Reserve Brigade killing numerous Hamas operatives and destroying the terror group’s infrastructure amid “intense” fighting.
The IDF announced the offensive on Khuza’a earlier this week, as part of an operation targeting the Hamas terrorists who attacked the border community of Nir Oz on October 7, where dozens of Israelis were killed and kidnapped.
The IDF said it was working to establish “operational control” over the area, and had so far killed Hamas gunmen and struck “significant” assets belonging to the terror group, including tunnel networks and anti-tank missile launch positions.
Troops found dozens of tunnel shafts along with numerous weapons, including assault rifles, explosives and mortars, the IDF said, adding that combat engineers with the 5th Brigade had demolished Hamas infrastructure in the homes of Hamas terrorists who participated in the attack on Nir Oz on October 7.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Friday at least 21,507 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since war with Israel broke out nearly 12 weeks ago, including 187 fatalities over the past 24 hours. A statement from the ministry added that 55,915 people have been wounded in Gaza during the fighting.
Figures issued by ministry cannot be independently verified and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.
According to IDF assessments, some 8,000 terror operatives have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
Agencies contributed to this report.
