Israeli army confirms soldier killed during Gaza fighting

The Israeli military announced on Sunday the death of one of its soldiers during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, amid ongoing attacks on the Palestinian territory.

In an official statement, the military said the soldier was killed in a blast during operations in the Jabalia area.  

He was identified as Sgt. Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, with a preliminary military investigation concluding that he was killed by an explosive device. 

The Israeli military on Sunday also issued fresh evacuation orders for Palestinians in northern Gaza, warning residents to move south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which was designated by Israel as a "humanitarian zone".

The order affects areas including Jabalia and most districts of Gaza City. 

Israeli bombardments intensified overnight in Jabalia, with medics and residents reporting the destruction of several homes and the deaths of at least six Palestinians, according to Reuters.

Palestinian and UN officials have warned that no area in Gaza is truly safe, given the scale of the brutal Israeli offensive that has killed over 56,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023. 

Rosenfeld’s death comes days after the Israeli army confirmed that seven soldiers from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion were killed during clashes in southern Gaza on Wednesday, marking one of the deadliest incidents for Israeli forces in months. 

According to official Israeli military figures, 880 soldiers have been killed and 5,844 others wounded in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. 

The latest incidents follow the end of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, after a US and Qatari-brokered ceasefire was agreed on Tuesday. Mediators have since stated the Iran-Israel truce has opened a potential window for reviving talks on a Gaza ceasefire. 

A previous two-month ceasefire in Gaza was cut short in March after Israel resumed its brutal bombardment of the territory and refused to move into the second phase of the deal, which would have laid the groundwork for a more permanent truce.  

Since then, negotiations have made little progress, with Hamas continuing to demand a total end to the war, a condition Israel has so far rejected.