The Latest: 7 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza as Iran-Israel ceasefire holds
Seven Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when their armored vehicle was struck by an explosive, an Israeli military official said Wednesday.
The announcement comes a day after witnesses and hospitals in Gaza said Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in separate incidents in southern and central Gaza early Tuesday, killing at least 44.
Meanwhile, people in Iran began returning to their lives as a ceasefire with Israel, negotiated by President Donald Trump, appeared to be holding. State media described heavy traffic around the Caspian Sea area and other rural areas outside of the capital, Tehran, as people began returning to the city.
The Iran-Israel conflict lasted 12 days with Israel targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, saying it could not allow Tehran to develop atomic weapons. On Sunday, the U.S. intervened by dropping bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Here is the latest:
7 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
Israel's military said Wednesday that seven soldiers had been killed the day before inside Gaza.
A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said that the seven were killed around 5pm when an explosive struck their armored vehicle in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The military said another soldier was badly wounded Tuesday from RPG fire.
The incident was an unusually deadly one for Israel's troops operating inside Gaza.
The military says over 860 soldiers have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack — including more than 400 during fighting inside Gaza.
——
By Julia Frankel in Jerusalem
Hamas claims attack on Israeli soldiers
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, said on its Telegram channel Tuesday it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some of the soldiers were killed and other injured after they were targeted by a Yassin 105 missile and another missile south of Khan Younis, Hamas said.
Al-Qassam fighters then targeted the building with machine guns.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the Israeli military's announcement that seven of its soldiers were killed Tuesday in Gaza.
Iran executes more prisoners
Iran executed three more prisoners Wednesday over allegedly spying for Israel, its state-run IRNA news agency reported, the latest hangings connected to its war with Israel.
Iran identified the three men executed Wednesday as Azad Shojaei, Edris Aali and Iraqi national Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul.
Iran is one of the world's top executioners. After the brutal 1980s Iran-Iraq war, Iran carried out the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners and others, raising concerns among activists about a similar wave coming after the war with Israel.
The hangings happened in Urmia Prison in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, which is the country's most northwestern province.
IRNA cited Iran's judiciary for the news, saying the men had been accused of bringing 'assassination equipment' into the country.
Wednesday's executions bring the total number of hangings for espionage around the war up to six.
Israeli strikes killed more than 1,000 in Iran, group says
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 1,054 people and wounded 4,476 others, according to figures released Wednesday by the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, said of those killed, it identified 417 civilians and 318 security force personnel.
Iran's government provided sporadic casualty information throughout the war. Its latest update on Tuesday put the death toll at 606 people killed, with 5,332 others being injured.
In Israel, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war.
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