Three Israeli soldiers killed in explosion in Jabalia, senior legal official killed in Gaza City

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the city of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday after an explosion hit an Israeli army tank, in the latest in a series of casualties for the Israeli army in recent weeks.

The soldiers were named as Staff Sgt. Shoham Menahem, Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem and Sgt. Yuliy Faktor and reportedly belonged to the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armoured Brigade, with another soldier injured in the blast.

The Israeli army claimed the deaths were due to ammunition inside the tank detonating, following initial reports suggesting that the vehicle was hit by an anti-tank missile.

No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility yet for the incident; however, The New Arab's sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said Palestinian fighters targeted the tank, without specifying which group they belonged to.

At least 44 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel resumed its attacks on the war-battered enclave in March, effectively ending a ceasefire there.

The number of those killed has risen significantly in recent months, with at least 13 killed so far in July.

The total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023 is 454 according to an AFP tally.

Additionally, another Israeli soldier reportedly committed suicide on Monday at a military base in the occupied Golan Heights, marking the third suicide among troops in 10 days.

The soldier, who was not named, actively took part in the onslaught in Gaza, which has killed at least 58,386 Palestinians since 7 October 2023.

The number of Israeli soldiers taking their lives following their participation in the Gaza war has risen sharply this year, with at least 15 having committed suicide this year, according to Israeli media reports.

Senior legal official killed in Gaza City strike

On Tuesday, Israeli forces carried out a series of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killing a number of Palestinians, including Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Al-Ghoul was born in Rafah in 1957 and served as the minister of justice as well as the minister for prisoners in the Gaza Strip, and headed a government committee tasked with following up on a United Nations fact-finding mission report on the Gaza conflict. 

Al-Ghoul was the founder and president of the Dar al-Haqq and Law Foundation for Human Rights, and ran a law firm in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s attacks have killed numerous politicians, officials, and parliamentary representatives amid its military onslaught on the territory, ongoing since 7 October 2023.

Also on Tuesday, Israeli forces launched raids on Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, the al-Shati refugee camp north of the enclave, as well as the Jabalia camp and other locations.

EU 'unlikely' to implement measures against Israel for Gaza conduct

Also on Tuesday, the European Union was set to discuss a range of possible measures against Israel in response to its actions in the Gaza Strip, AFP reported, but none are likely to be adopted.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has put forward ten potential measures after the bloc concluded that Israel had violated a cooperation agreement between the two sides on the grounds of human rights.

The steps that could be taken include suspending the entire accord, curbing trade ties, sanctioning Israeli ministers, imposing an arms embargo, and halting visa-free travel.

However, EU states remain divided over how to tackle Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with very few countries having explicitly condemned the increasingly horrific atrocities recently.

Kallas said on Monday: "I was asked to give the inventory of the options that could be taken and it's up to the member states to discuss what do we do with these options."

She also said on Thursday she had struck a deal with her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, to open more entry points and allow in more food.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, however, criticised the lack of action following the deal, saying that "nothing has changed" on the ground in Gaza. His Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, echoed his sentiments, calling the situation in Gaza "catastrophic" amid the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.

Israel has imposed a deadly siege on the Gaza Strip since March, severely limiting the entry of aid into the enclave, triggering a worsening hunger crisis, malnutrition cases, and food insecurity levels.

Hundreds of Palestinians have also been killed by Israel as they desperately queue for food and water.

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