An Israeli soldier died in an explosion in southern Gaza on Monday, the Israeli Army (IDF) announced, as troops began ground operations in Deir al-Balah, an area in the central Gaza Strip where the Army had not deployed ground troops since the beginning of the war
The soldier was identified as Sergeant Amit Cohen, 19, of the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade in the city of Holon.
According to an initial Army investigation, Cohen died due to the explosion of Israeli military ammunition inside a building in Khan Younis.
The explosion also seriously injured an officer from the same battalion.
The Army is investigating the cause of the incident, which may have been an “operational accident.”
Cohen’s death brings to 455 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in operations along the border with the region.
On Monday, media outlets in Gaza reported that Israeli tanks had entered the southern and eastern districts of Deir al-Balah.
Until now, this was one of the few areas in Gaza where the Israeli Army had not conducted ground operations, believing Hamas was holding hostages there, although it had previously conducted airstrikes on the city.
Hamas threatened to execute hostages if the Army approached.
By policy, the Israeli Army avoids ground operations in areas where it believes Hamas is holding hostages, so as not to put them at risk.
The operation in Deir al-Balah was led by the Golani Infantry Brigade, with tanks and combat engineers, following artillery shelling and airstrikes overnight and into Monday morning.
On Sunday, the Army issued an evacuation order for several areas southwest of Deir al-Balah, where many Palestinians had sought refuge.
According to the UN, between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area when the order was given.
Civilians were advised to head to Mawasi, a coastal region already sheltering around 600,000 people.
A UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, warned that southern Gaza’s main water desalination plant, essential for providing drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people, is located in the Deir al-Balah area that was ordered to be evacuated.
The plant produces around 2.5 million liters of water per day, and its loss would be “catastrophic” for those displaced in Mawasi.
About 87% of Gaza is currently under Israeli evacuation orders, which has concentrated approximately 2.1 million people in fragmented areas with few services available, according to the UN.
Most water and sanitation facilities are in militarized zones or under evacuation orders, leaving 93% of Gaza households without access to drinking water over the past month.
Local doctors reported tank shelling hitting homes and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding others.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said 130 Palestinians were killed and more than a thousand wounded by Israeli gunfire and military strikes in the past 24 hours.
These figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants and cannot be verified.
Israel says it seeks to minimize civilian deaths and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields, operating in civilian areas such as homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Also on Monday, Marwan al-Hams, a Hamas Health Ministry official and director of Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, was reportedly detained by an undercover Israeli force outside an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) field hospital in southern Gaza.
According to Hamas, Hams was “kidnapped” after an attack that killed one person and wounded another.
Doctors said the fatal victim was a local journalist who was interviewing Hams at the time of the incident.
The ICRC confirmed that its hospital treated wounded people, but declined to provide details to protect the patients’ privacy, expressing concern about security in the area.
The Israeli Army did not comment on the case.
Meanwhile, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, which represents relatives of about 50 hostages (at least 20 of whom are still alive), called on the government to explain the operation in Deir al-Balah.
The group demanded that the prime minister, the defense minister, the army chief, and the army spokesman publicly clarify why the offensive did not endanger the hostages.
“The people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages,” the group said.
Ruhama Bohbot, mother of Elkana Bohbot, a hostage believed to be alive, expressed concern about the military operation.
“The army has started operating in Gaza, where Elkana is being held, and I’m a little worried, like the other families,” she said.
“I don’t know why they started this now, just when there are talks of a deal.
I hope the army knows what to do and doesn’t touch the hostages.”
Published in 07/21/2025 23h45
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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