Israel announces ‘tactical pauses’ in Gaza fighting

HISTORY :: Beit Jann, Israel

Mourners on Sunday buried Israeli military officer Wassem Mahmoud, the commander who was killed Saturday in the Gaza Strip along with seven of his soldiers.

At the funeral, an officer said Mahmoud led his soldiers “with bravery, determination and professionalism.”

Mahmoud was a member of Israel’s Druze minority, a sect whose faith has its roots in Islam.

The Israeli military said Mahmoud and his team were traveling on Saturday aboard an armored personnel carrier in a convoy of vehicles in the southern city of Rafah.

Here is army spokesperson Daniel Hagari:

:: June 15, 2024

“According to the information we have, at that time a strong explosion occurred in one of the engineering vehicles of the convoy, apparently caused by an explosive device placed in the area or by the firing of a missile inside the The eight fighters who were killed were armored vehicles.

The armed wing of the Hamas militant group said the vehicle was stuck in a prepared minefield.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called the victims “another heartbreaking price in our just war to defend our homeland.”

And he recommitted to sticking to his military goals: the destruction of the militant group Hamas and the return of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

:: Israeli Police via X

On Saturday, Israeli police released these images purporting to show parts of an operation last weekend that rescued Noa Argamani, 26, and three others captured on October 7.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the date or location where the video was filmed.

:: Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza

:: October 14, 2023

Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to end the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months after the start of the war in the Palestinian enclave.

:: Rafah, Gaza

:: June 13, 2024

But the Israeli military announced Sunday that it would make daily tactical pauses in combat operations along a main road in southern Gaza to allow more aid to arrive in the area.

:: October 7, 2023

The war erupted when Hamas fighters rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 prisoners, according to Israeli counts.

:: Source: Israeli army

Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes and ground invasion have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

:: Jabalia, Gaza

Israeli forces are closing in on Rafah, where they say brigades of Hamas fighters remain entrenched.