Latest news with #BrigGenEffieDefrin
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Seven Israeli soldiers killed in Hamas attack in Gaza
Seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in a Hamas attack in the southern Gaza Strip , the Israeli military said on Wednesday, one of the deadliest incidents for the force in months. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks have killed 74 people in the Palestinian territory over the previous 24 hours, according to local health authorities on Wednesday. The seven Israeli soldiers, in the 605th combat engineering battalion, were killed on Tuesday after militants planted a bomb on their vehicle while they were driving in Khan Younis, causing it to catch fire. Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack. 'Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and made attempts to extract the soldiers but were unsuccessful,' said Brig Gen Effie Defrin, an Israeli army spokesman, on Wednesday. He added that the 605th battalion was finding and demolishing tunnels, as well as killing militants, in Khan Younis. READ MORE Their deaths brought the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since October 7th, 2023, to 879. More than 56,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza by Israel, according to the health ministry, since the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. [ Gaza's last hospitals battle to save patients amid severe depletion of life-saving medical items Opens in new window ] At least 40 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza were shot by Israeli forces on Tuesday, local medics and officials said. The incident comes as Israel ends its war with Iran, agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday. Fighting started anew in Gaza in March, when Israel restarted its war after refusing to move to a second phase of a ceasefire, which could have led to a more permanent truce. Since then, negotiations for a second ceasefire have borne little progress, with Hamas insisting on a total end to the war in Gaza – a demand Israel has rejected. Since March, humanitarian conditions in the beleaguered strip have deteriorated. Famine-like conditions reign after Israel imposed a nearly two-month siege on any humanitarian aid into the country. Unicef warned last week that 60 per cent of water production facilities in Gaza were not functioning and that there was a 50 per cent increase in acute child malnutrition from April to May. More than 500 people have been shot dead by Israeli forces as they travelled to get food from a new US- and Israel-backed private organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Chaos has reigned as hungry Palestinians have had to walk miles and navigate the complicated rules that the GHF and Israel have imposed to access food, with almost daily scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting dozens of people at the sites. [ 'We are being slaughtered': Gazans risk their lives on desperate journeys for food Opens in new window ] The GHF has been condemned as potentially being complicit in war crimes, for what aid groups have alleged are its violations of the principles of neutrality and independence, pillars of humanitarian work. On Wednesday, US president Donald Trump said that US strikes on Iran – which targeted three nuclear facilities – could help lead to a breakthrough on Gaza ceasefire negotiations. 'I think great progress is being made on Gaza. Because of the attack that we made, I think we're going to have some very good news. I think that it helped a little bit, it showed a lot of power,' Mr Trump said at a press conference at a Nato summit in the Netherlands. On Tuesday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement calling for the ceasefire with Iran to be expanded to Gaza. 'We call on the Government to engage in urgent negotiations that will bring home all of the hostages and end the war. Those who can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza,' the forum said in a statement. – Guardian
CTV News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Explosive kills 7 Israeli soldiers in Gaza inside an armoured vehicle, military says
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in the southern Gaza Strip when a Palestinian attacker attached a bomb to their armored vehicle while Palestinians health officials in the battered enclave reported that 79 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the strip Wednesday. The attack on the Israeli troops, which occurred on Tuesday, was one of the deadliest for the army in Gaza in months, and quickly drew the nation's attention back to the grinding conflict with the Hamas militant group after nearly two weeks of war between Israel and Iran. Among the 79 reported killed in Gaza were 33 people who died while trying to access aid. Israel returns its attention to Gaza Israel has been fighting in Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. U.S.-led ceasefire efforts have repeatedly stalled in the conflict. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the army's chief spokesman, said the soldiers were attacked in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where the army has operated on and off throughout much of the war. 'Helicopters and rescue forces were sent to the spot. They made attempts to rescue the fighters, but without success,' he said. The army said another soldier was seriously wounded in a separate incident in Khan Younis. It gave no further details, but Hamas claimed on its Telegram channel it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the area. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. The initial Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Some 50 hostages remain in captivity, at least 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinians eager for a ceasefire of their own Some Palestinians in Gaza City expressed frustration Wednesday that the war in the territory has dragged on for nearly two years, while the conflict between Israel and Iran lasted 12 days before a fragile ceasefire was reached. 'I live in a tent and now my tent is gone too and we're living in suffering here. The war between Israel and Iran ended in less than two weeks and we've been dying for two years,' said Um Zidan, a woman displaced from northern Gaza. Gaza health authorities had announced on Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000. Israel's blockade and military campaign have driven the population to the brink of famine. Mazen al-Jomla, a displaced resident of Shati camp, questioned why war in the coastal enclave has stretched on, noting that Israel's assault on Iran was based on accusations of possessing nuclear weapons. 'We have been suffering for two years; from horrors, destruction, martyrs and injured people,' he said. 'What do they (Israel) have left here? There are no houses, trees, or rocks, or humans left. Everything was destroyed.' Deadliest round of fighting The Israeli offensive has devastated Gaza and killed over 56,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, a branch of the Hamas government. The death toll is by far the highest in any round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead were women and children. The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, which operates in heavily populated areas. Israel says over 20,000 Hamas militants have been killed, though it has provided no evidence to support that claim. Hamas has not commented on its casualties. Palestinian woman killed in Jerusalem Meanwhile, a local Palestinian official in the occupied West Bank said Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman during a raid in east Jerusalem. Israeli police said they were investigating the incident, saying a woman had arrived at a military checkpoint with 'serious penetrating injuries' and been pronounced dead. Marouf Al-Refai, the Palestinian official, said Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Zahia Obeidi with a shot to the head around 10 p.m. and seizing her body thereafter. Israeli forces arrested her husband and sons later that night, Refai said. Their whereabouts were not immediately known, and police had no further details. Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. It considers the area to be part of its capital – a move that is not internationally recognized. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital. Julia Frankel, The Associated Press
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Seven Israeli soldiers killed in Hamas attack in southern Gaza Strip
Seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in a Hamas attack in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, one of the deadliest incidents for the force in months. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks have killed 74 people in the Palestinian territory over the past 24 hours, according to local health authorities. The seven Israeli soldiers, in the 605th combat engineering battalion, were killed on Tuesday after militants planted a bomb on their vehicle while they were driving in Khan Younis, causing it to catch fire. Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack. 'Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and made attempts to extract the soldiers but were unsuccessful,' said Brig Gen Effie Defrin, an Israeli army spokesperson, on Wednesday. He added that the 605th battalion was finding and demolishing tunnels, as well as killing militants, in Khan Younis. Their deaths brought the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023 to 879. More than 56,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza by Israel, according to the health ministry, since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. At least 40 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza were shot by Israeli forces on Tuesday, local medics and officials said. The incident comes as Israel ends its war with Iran, agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday. Fighting started anew in Gaza in March, when Israel restarted its war after refusing to move to a second phase of a ceasefire, which could have led to a more permanent truce. Since then, negotiations for a second ceasefire have borne little progress, with Hamas insisting on a total end to the war in Gaza – a demand Israel has rejected. Since March, humanitarian conditions in the beleaguered strip have deteriorated. Famine-like conditions reign after Israel imposed a nearly two-month siege on any humanitarian aid into the country. Unicef warned last week that 60% of water production facilities in Gaza were not functioning and that there was a 50% increase in acute child malnutrition from April to May. More than 500 people have been shot dead by Israeli forces as they travelled to get food from a new US- and Israel-backed private food organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Chaos has reigned as hungry Palestinians have had to walk miles and navigate the complicated rules that the GHF and Israel have imposed to access aid, with almost daily scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting dozens of people at aid sites. The GHF has been condemned as potentially being complicit in war crimes for what aid groups have alleged are its violations of the principles of neutrality and independence, pillars of humanitarian work. On Wednesday, US president Donald Trump said that US strikes on Iran – which targeted three nuclear facilities – could help lead to a breakthrough on Gaza ceasefire negotiations. 'I think great progress is being made on Gaza. Because of the attack that we made, I think we're going to have some very good news. I think that it helped a little bit, it showed a lot of power,' Trump said at a press conference at a Nato summit in the Netherlands. There were calls for a Gaza ceasefire within Israel, with Israeli officials and media figures calling on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza. Moshe Gafni, a member of the Israeli Knesset and head of the United Torah Judaism part, criticised the continuation of the war in an interview on Wednesday. 'I don't understand at this moment [why we are still fighting there]. I don't understand what the need is … We need some kind of Trump here with us to say: 'OK, that's it!'' Gafni said. More rightwing members of the Israeli government have rejected calls for a ceasefire, with extremist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich saying on Wednesday that the Israeli military could defeat Hamas in Gaza within two months. Israel has said that its aim is to return the remaining 50 hostages, 30 of which are presumed dead, held in Gaza. The last US ceasefire draft involved a 60-day pause in fighting, and redoubled efforts towards long term peace, as well as the release of half of the living hostages and half of the deceased. Hamas previously proposed releasing fewer hostages as well as including a permanent end to the war in the ceasefire agreement. On Tuesday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement calling for the ceasefire with Iran to be expanded to Gaza. 'We call on the government to engage in urgent negotiations that will bring home all of the hostages and end the war. Those who can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza,' the forum said in a statement.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
7 Israeli troops killed in a Gaza bombing as Palestinian officials say 79 killed in Israeli attacks
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in the southern Gaza Strip when a Palestinian attacker attached a bomb to their armored vehicle while Palestinians health officials in the battered enclave reported that 79 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the strip Wednesday. The attack on the Israeli troops, which occurred on Tuesday, was one of the deadliest for the army in Gaza in months, and quickly drew the nation's attention back to the grinding conflict with the Hamas militant group after nearly two weeks of war between Israel and Iran. Among the 79 reported killed in Gaza were 33 people who died while trying to access aid. Israel returns its attention to Gaza Israel has been fighting in Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. U.S.-led ceasefire efforts have repeatedly stalled in the conflict. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the army's chief spokesman, said the soldiers were attacked in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where the army has operated on and off throughout much of the war. 'Helicopters and rescue forces were sent to the spot. They made attempts to rescue the fighters, but without success,' he said. The army said another soldier was seriously wounded in a separate incident in Khan Younis. It gave no further details, but Hamas claimed on its Telegram channel it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the area. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. The initial Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Some 50 hostages remain in captivity, at least 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinians eager for a ceasefire of their own Some Palestinians in Gaza City expressed frustration Wednesday that the war in the territory has dragged on for nearly two years, while the conflict between Israel and Iran lasted 12 days before a fragile ceasefire was reached. 'I live in a tent and now my tent is gone too and we're living in suffering here. The war between Israel and Iran ended in less than two weeks and we've been dying for two years,' said Um Zidan, a woman displaced from northern Gaza. Gaza health authorities had announced on Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000. Israel's blockade and military campaign have driven the population to the brink of famine. Mazen al-Jomla, a displaced resident of Shati camp, questioned why war in the coastal enclave has stretched on, noting that Israel's assault on Iran was based on accusations of possessing nuclear weapons. 'We have been suffering for two years; from horrors, destruction, martyrs and injured people," he said. "What do they (Israel) have left here? There are no houses, trees, or rocks, or humans left. Everything was destroyed.' Deadliest round of fighting The latest reported death toll of 56,156 is higher than in any previous Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The health ministry in Gaza doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of the dead have been women and children. The ministry said the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel resumed fighting on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, which operates in heavily populated areas. Israel says over 20,000 Hamas militants have been killed, though it has provided no evidence to support that claim. Hamas has not commented on its casualties. Palestinian woman killed in Jerusalem Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman during a raid on Wednesday in east Jerusalem, her husband and a local Palestinian official said. Joudah Al-Obeidi, a 67-year-old resident of the neighborhood's Shuafat refugee camp, said his wife Zahia Al-Obeidi was standing on the roof of their home when Israeli forces stormed the camp and shot her in the head. He said she had posed no threat. 'It is a crime,' he told The Associated Press. 'What danger did a sick 66-year-old woman pose to them?' Israeli police said they were investigating the incident, saying a woman had arrived at a military checkpoint with 'serious penetrating injuries' and was pronounced dead. They said Israeli forces fired at 'rioters' who threw rocks and heavy objects at them during the operation, hospitalizing one officer with a head injury from a large rock. Marouf Al-Refai, the Palestinian official, said Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Al-Obeidi with a shot to the head around 10 p.m. and took her body away. Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. It considers the area to be part of its capital – a move that is not internationally recognized. Palestinians want an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Arab News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israel says Iran fired cluster bomb-bearing missile
Iran fired at least one missile at Israel that scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, the Israeli military said on Thursday, the first reported use of cluster munitions in the seven-day-old war. Israeli military officials provided no further details. Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 4 miles and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 5 miles over central Israel. One of the small munitions struck a home in the central Israeli town of Azor, causing some damage, Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian reported. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb. Cluster bombs are controversial because they indiscriminately scatter submunitions, some of which can fail to explode and kill or injure long after a conflict ends. The Israeli military released a graphic as a public warning of the dangers of unexploded ordnance. 'The terror regime seeks to harm civilians and even used weapons with wide dispersal in order to maximize the scope of the damage,' Israel's military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, told a briefing. Iran's mission to the United Nations and Israel's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'They are egregious weapons with their wide-area destruction, especially if used in a civilian populated area and could add to the unexploded ordnance left over from conflicts,' said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association advocacy group. Noting that Iranian missiles can be imprecise, he said that Tehran should know that cluster munitions 'are going to hit civilian targets rather than military targets.' Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities. After extensive debate, the US in 2023 supplied Ukraine with cluster munitions for use against Russian occupation forces. Kyiv says Russian troops also have fired them. The three countries declined to join the Convention Against Cluster Munitions.
