Hamas said that one of its commanders in the occupied West Bank was killed in a clash with Israeli forces, while Israel said four soldiers were killed in an explosion in Rafah.
In a statement released late Monday, Hamas said Mohammed Jaber Abdo was killed along with three other fighters in a village near Ramallah, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority is headquartered.
A joint statement by the Israeli army and police earlier on Monday said undercover forces had tracked down a suspect wanted in an attack on a nearby Jewish settlement.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel.
Over 530 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most were killed during violent protests or Israeli arrest raids, which often trigger gunbattles.
Israeli media, citing unnamed security officials, reported that four soldiers were killed Monday when explosives they were using to clear the building were triggered prematurely, causing it to collapse, killing four soldiers and wounding 11. Hamas said that it had booby trapped the building and attacked the soldiers with mortars after the explosion.
Earlier Monday, the U.N. Security Council overwhelmingly approved a U.S. resolution that welcomes a proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 36,730 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies. U.N. agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Currently:
— Blinken returns to Mideast as Israel-Hamas cease-fire proposal hangs in balance after hostage rescue
— How an Israeli raid freed 4 hostages and killed at least 274 Palestinians in Gaza
— What does Israel’s rescue of 4 captives, and the killing of 274 Palestinians, mean for truce talks?
— Centrist Benny Gantz is quitting Israel’s war Cabinet, citing frustrations with Netanyahu
Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military says four soldiers died in an explosion in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli media, citing unnamed security officials, reported that the soldiers were killed Monday when explosives they were using to clear the building were triggered prematurely, causing it to collapse, killing four soldiers and wounding 11.
The Hamas militant group said it had booby-trapped the building and attacked the soldiers with mortar rounds after the explosion.
The military targeted the building because they believed there was a Hamas operative inside who was involved in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held in Gaza for five years, according to Israeli media.