Israel says two soldiers killed, three wounded in Gaza

Jerusalem, May 9 Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others seriously wounded in two separate attacks in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to a statement from the Israeli military released Friday.

In the first attack, Sergeant Yishai Urbach, 20, a combat engineer, was killed when Hamas militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at a building in Rafah, where Israeli forces were stationed. Two other soldiers were injured in the assault, with one sustaining serious wounds. The injured soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in central Israel.

In the second attack, Sergeant Yam Frid, 21, of the Golani infantry brigade, died when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) struck the tank he was in, also in Rafah. Two other soldiers in the tank were severely wounded.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating on Telegram that its operatives ambushed an Israeli force of 12 soldiers inside a house in eastern Rafah. The militants reportedly fired two RPGs and detonated an explosive device near the soldiers.

The attacks raised the total number of Israeli soldiers killed in the ongoing ground offensive in Gaza to 418, according to the tally of Israeli media.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also reported that over the past 24 hours, they struck more than 60 targets in Gaza, including "terror cells," weapon depots, and other infrastructure.

In related developments, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed on Friday that the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza would begin shortly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Speaking at a press briefing in Jerusalem, Huckabee stated that private security personnel would oversee the aid distribution, while the IDF would focus on securing the perimeter. He emphasised that the operation aimed to prevent Hamas from controlling the distribution of aid.

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