Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged on May 21 that a soldier was killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip a day earlier, making the second such loss since the military launched a large-scale offensive, codenamed Operation Gideon’s Chariots to completely take control of the Palestinian enclave.
The slain soldier was serving in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 82nd Battalion, the military said in a statement, adding that the incident took place in the city of Khan Younis, which became the focus of the ongoing offensive in recent days.
According to a preliminary military probe, the soldier was killed when a bomb planted by Palestinian fighters exploded in a building, which then collapsed with him inside.
The soldier had gone into the building with a second soldier following initial scans with a drone and a dog, the investigation found. When the two reached the top floor of the building, a bomb that had been planted there exploded, according to the probe. The detonation caused the building to collapse.
It took Israeli troops several hours to extract the body from the rubble, the IDF said. The second soldier was rescued relatively quickly with minor injuries.
The IDF on May 19 ordered all Palestinians to move from Khan Younis to a humanitarian zone to the southeast, warning that it was preparing an “unprecedented attack” on the city.
Separately, the IDF announced on May 21 that the Israeli Air Force had struck 115 targets across the Strip over the past day, hitting rocket launchers, buildings used by “terror groups,” tunnels, other infrastructure, and cells of operatives. The Israeli Navy also shelled areas of northern Gaza to assist troops on the ground, according to the military.
The IDF also announced that a recent drone strike in northern Gaza had killed Mohammed Shaheen, a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force in the group’s East Jabalia Battalion who participated in the October 7 surprise attack on Israel in 2023.
Hamas-run authorities in Gaza say Israeli strikes killed at least 45 people, including several women and a week-old infant, over the past 24 hours.
The IDF began preparing for Operation Gideon’s Chariots earlier this month. Thousands of reservists were called up and elite formations were deployed to Gaza from other fronts.
Israeli officials stated that the large-scale offensive would see the IDF “conquer” Gaza and retain the territory, attack Hamas, prevent the group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies, and move Palestinians from the Strip’s north to its south. Despite facing international backlash, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be determined to go on with the offensive.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
