Two IDF soldiers were killed on Monday in clashes with Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Tuesday morning. The number of Israeli military fatalities since the start of the ground operation stands at 27.
The IDF named one of the soldiers killed on Monday as Nahal brigade soldier St.-Sgt. Oded Ben Sira, who was 22. Ben Sira was from Nir Etzion. Late Monday and early Tuesday, three soldiers were seriously injured, and four were moderately hurt, during battles in Gaza.
The IDF launched a large-scale wave of air strikes in Shejaia, northeast in Gaza overnight, hitting 100 targets there in the past 24 hours, including weapons, and Hamas infrastructure sites.
In some of the strikes, secondary blasts, indicating the presence of Hamas arms, were detected.
Since the start of the ground offensive last week, 23 tunnels have been destroyed and 183 Palestinians killed, a senior military source said. Twenty terrorists are in custody.
IDF sensor to shooter cycle centers, which coordinate air strikes against Hamas fighters, were behind successful Israeli attacks that killed 66 fighters since the start of the ground operation, the source added.
Ground forces "are moving and scanning areas. They are dynamic, and are not standing in place," the source said. Hamas is trying to defend its tunnel network, often opting for close combat with the army, he added.
Meanwhile, the IDF's Central Command has been engaged with a series of recent incidents. A shooting left an Israeli teenager injured in Samaria early on Tuesday. Levels of violence are rising in the Central Command's sector, the source said.
A Palestinian was shot dead by security forces in al-Ram, northeast of Jerusalem, during a riot on Monday night.
Additionally, the IDF intercepted a shipment of weapons in the Dead Sea, which was sent from unknown operatives in Jordan to Palestinian terrorists.
