JERUSALEM, May 19 – An Israeli soldier was killed during combat in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, the military said, marking the first Israeli fatality since the launch of a major ground operation over the weekend.
The military identified the soldier as Sergeant Yosef Yehuda Chirak, 22, from the West Bank settlement of Harasha. He served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion. No further details were provided on the circumstances of his death.
Chirak’s death comes as Israel intensifies its offensive in Gaza under “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” which began on Saturday.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has struck 160 targets across the enclave on Monday, including militant positions, anti-tank missile launchers, weapons depots, and military infrastructure. It also reported the destruction of a tunnel in southern Gaza and an airstrike on a building in Nuseirat, which it described as a Hamas command and control center.
XINHUA
