Jerusalem, April 25 (IANS) An Israeli tank driver was killed by sniper fire in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said in a statement.
The soldier, who served in the 79th Battalion of the “Machatz” Armored Brigade, was killed “during combat in northern Gaza,” the military said on Thursday, adding that his family had been notified of his death, Xinhua news agency reported.
The slain soldier’s name has not yet been cleared for publication.
In addition, an officer in the Yahalom Unit and a reservist from the same battalion were severely wounded in the incident and evacuated to a hospital, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned earlier on Thursday that Israel would escalate its military campaign in Gaza if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages soon.
“If we do not see progress in the return of the hostages in the near future, we will expand our operations to an even more intense and significant phase,” Zamir said during a tour of Gaza, where he met with ground forces and held a situation assessment with commanders, according to another military statement.
According to Israeli authorities, 59 hostages remain in Gaza, including 58 of the 251 taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel.
The IDF has confirmed that at least 35 hostages of those still held are believed to be dead.
The deadly incident took place not far from an attack on Saturday, in which Hamas operatives opened fire on an unarmoured army vehicle, seriously wounding three soldiers, before planting a bomb in the area, which killed a soldier and seriously injured another.
According to military figures, at least 805 soldiers have been killed and 5,427 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza war last year.
Israel has launched a war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 44,200 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,700.
The war has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war.
–IANS
int/khz
