2 soldiers killed in Gaza; another mass casualty incident reported near GHF aid site

Two Israeli soldiers were killed fighting in separate incidents in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis on Monday, the military announced.

Cpt. (res.) Tal Movshovitz, 28, a deputy company commander in the 7086th Combat Engineering Battalion, from Re’ut, was killed by an explosive device planted in a building.

Hours later, Staff Sgt. Naveh Leshem, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, from Nokdim, was killed, and 10 other soldiers were wounded.

According to an initial IDF probe, Leshem and the other wounded soldiers were in an armored personnel carrier during operations in Khan Younis when a terror operative placed an explosive device on the outside of the vehicle.

The blast killed Leshem and seriously wounded four other troops, including an officer. It also left three soldiers in moderate condition and another three lightly hurt.

Leshem and Movshovitz were the second and third IDF fatalities in the last three days. Their deaths brought Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and military operations along the border with the Strip to 432.

The deadly incidents came as the IDF drew some forces out of the Strip, redeploying them along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, after Gaza was downgraded to a secondary arena amid a new campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.

It also came as Hamas-controlled authorities in Gaza said 34 people had been killed by IDF fire the previous day while trying to reach a distribution site for humanitarian aid.

According to the military, four IDF divisions are currently operating in Gaza, after the 98th Division, an elite formation of paratroopers and commando units, was taken out of Khan Younis and sent elsewhere as the Iran conflict began.

Still, tens of thousands of troops are operating in the Strip.

The military said Monday it has drawn down some forces from Gaza amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, and has instead bolstered the borders with Egypt and Jordan.

The IDF said it has tripled the usual number of forces on the Jordanian border, in recent days deploying the newly formed 96th “Gilad” Division to the northern portion of the Jordan border, while the 80th “Edom” Division has bolstered the southern section.

The 80th Division has also bolstered troops along the border with Egypt.

In northern Israel, the IDF said it continues to defend against potential threats from Lebanon and Syria.

Hamas agency says 20 killed, 200 wounded, waiting for aid

Gaza’s Hamas-linked health officials said Israeli troops killed 34 people waiting to collect food on Monday, in the latest deadly incident near an aid center run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had received 200 people at its field hospital in the Al-Mawasi area near Rafah, without elaborating on the circumstances. In a statement on X, the group said it was “the highest number received by the Red Cross Field Hospital in one mass casualty incident.”

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports, which have been a near-daily occurrence since GHF launched its sites on May 26.

Palestinians say they face the choice of starving or risking death as they make their way past Israeli forces to reach the distribution points, which are run by a private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says several hundred people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in such shootings since the centers opened.

The Red Cross field hospital nearby received some 200 injured on Monday, the highest single mass casualty event it has seen, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement. Only a day earlier, it said, around 170 were brought to the facility, most of them wounded by gunshots while trying to reach the GHF center. The Health Ministry toll made it the deadliest day around the food sites since June 2, when 31 people were killed.

Israeli troops started firing as thousands of Palestinians massed around 4 a.m. at the Flag Roundabout before the scheduled opening time of the Rafah food center, according to Heba Jouda and Mohamed Abed, two Palestinians who were in the crowd.

People fell to the ground, trying to take cover, they said. “Fire was coming from everywhere,” said Jouda, who has repeatedly made the journey to get food for her family over the past week. “It’s getting worse day by day,” she said.

The Flag Roundabout, hundreds of meters (yards) from the GHF center, has been the scene of repeated shootings. It is on the route designated by the Israeli military for people to take to reach the center.

Palestinians over the past weeks have said Israeli troops open fire to prevent people from moving past a certain point on the road before the scheduled opening of the center or because people leave the road.

A GHF spokesperson told The Associated Press on Sunday that “none of the incidents to date have occurred at our sites or during operating hours.” It said the incidents have involved aid-seekers who were moving “during prohibited times … or trying to take a shortcut.” It said it was trying to improve safety measures, including by recently moving the opening times from nighttime to daylight hours.

GHF has repeatedly opened sites for distribution in the middle of the night, even though the IDF has said access routes to the sites are closed during those times, placing hungry Gazans in the dilemma of having to decide between picking up food or staying in safer areas without any aid.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution that the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. Its operations have been plagued by deadly shooting incidents in areas leading to its sites.

The IDF is not present at the sites that are protected by civilian contractors, but does secure the approach routes. The IDF has admitted that in some cases, troops fired warning shots or fired at suspects who approached them while ignoring calls to stay away from military positions.

The lack of international media access to the Strip has made verifying either side’s claims almost impossible.

Iran strikes could help bring hostage deal, official claims

Israel believes that its strikes against Iran will help in talks with Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday.

“The backing for Hamas will not be as strong,” said the official. “Hamas will feel compelled to move forward with an agreement.”

Weeks ago, Israel proposed a deal in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages on the first day of a 60-day ceasefire, and two more a month later, according to the official.

Families of hostages in Gaza have expressed their worry in recent days that the fighting with Iran has overshadowed the plight of their captive loved ones.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Terror groups in Gaza continue to hold 53 hostages, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.