Israel reports nine soldier deaths in recent Gaza fighting

The Israeli military reported on Tuesday that an additional nine soldiers were killed in Gaza, marking one of the highest 24-hour fatality rates in the war in Gaza, bringing the total number of Israeli military deaths in the region to 187.

During a televised press conference on Tuesday, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari reported that six soldiers were killed and 14 injured due to an accidental explosion on Monday while they were engaged in operations to dismantle Hamas infrastructure.

“Yesterday, we exposed the largest Hamas rocket and weapons production site in Al-Bureij. During the operational activity to destroy the underground infrastructure of the weapons production site, an explosion was caused as a result of tank fire identifying an enemy target. It appears that a tank shell hit a nearby power pole, triggering the charge,” Hagari said.

The recent casualties primarily involved engineering units targeting Hamas tunnels in the southern and central regions of Gaza.