An IDF reserve officer was seriously wounded overnight Wednesday after coming under terrorist fire in an Israeli-held sector of northern Gaza.
The officer and his unit were carrying out routine activity on the Israeli-controlled side of the so-called "yellow line"—the ceasefire demarcation—in the Daraj Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.
The force was operating near the site where the body of the last Israeli hostage, Sgt. First Class Ran Gvili, was recovered last week, when terrorists opened fire from a hiding place amid war-damaged buildings still partially standing, severely wounding the officer.
According to the IDF, the officer was evacuated to the hospital for treatment, and his family was notified. “Immediately after the shooting, tanks opened fire at the terrorists and airstrikes were launched in parallel,” the IDF said. “This was a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
In response, Southern Command is preparing targeted strikes against terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Since the start of the war, 6,417 soldiers have been wounded, including 957 seriously and 1,571 moderately. As of now, five soldiers are hospitalized in serious condition and 144 in moderate condition.
As violations of the fragile ceasefire continue, and following a day of trial operations, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is moving toward routine activity as part of Phase II of the agreement. IDF officials had assessed that significant concessions to Hamas would help stabilize the area and curb the group’s ceasefire violations.
The first group of Gaza residents returned from Egypt to the enclave via the crossing on Monday. Under the agreed framework, about 150 people are expected to exit Gaza to Egypt daily, while 50 will travel in the opposite direction.
Last Saturday, the IDF carried out a wave of strikes across Gaza in response to ceasefire violations by Hamas. The military said commanders and terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were targeted.
“Terrorist organizations in Gaza systematically violate international law, cynically exploiting civilian institutions and operating among the local population,” the statement said. “The IDF and Shin Bet view any violation of the agreement with great severity and will continue to act against any attempt to carry out terrorist plots against IDF forces and Israeli civilians.”
According to the military, in one incident on Friday, IDF forces killed at least three terrorists in the Rafah area after eight were identified emerging from a tunnel in eastern Rafah. Additional strikes were later carried out against areas to which the remaining terrorists attempted to flee. In another incident that night, the air force killed four armed terrorists near the yellow line in central Gaza after the Kfir Brigade combat team forces identified them.