5 Israeli Soldiers Killed, 14 Wounded in Roadside Bombing in Northern Gaza

By Kamaran Aziz

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Five Israeli soldiers were killed and fourteen others injured in a devastating roadside bomb attack in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun late Monday night, the Israeli military confirmed Tuesday morning. The attack is among the deadliest incidents involving Israeli forces in Gaza in recent weeks and comes amid intensified ground operations targeting Hamas operatives.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the explosion occurred shortly after 10 p.m. as infantry soldiers were conducting a foot patrol in Beit Hanoun, a densely urbanized area near the Israeli border town of Sderot. An initial military probe indicates the explosive device had been planted by Palestinian militants and detonated as soldiers passed the site. During efforts to evacuate the casualties, IDF troops reportedly came under additional gunfire.

The five slain soldiers were identified as Staff Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar, 20, Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, Staff Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin, 28. Four of them—Amar, Frech, Musgadian, and Noll—served in the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion under the Kfir Brigade. Asulin served in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.

Two of the 14 wounded soldiers remain in serious condition, the IDF said.

The incident occurred as part of a renewed offensive launched on Saturday in Beit Hanoun by the IDF’s Northern Gaza Division, including the Netzah Yehuda Battalion and the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade. The area was targeted from the air in advance of ground operations, according to the army.

Beit Hanoun, a strategic location on the edge of northern Gaza, has witnessed repeated Israeli incursions since the war began in Oct. 2023. Though Israeli forces have previously captured the area, they have typically withdrawn after several weeks. However, officials have indicated that the latest military campaign is aimed at retaining long-term control over territory, with the IDF currently occupying roughly 70 percent of the Strip.

Netzah Yehuda, founded in 1999, is composed primarily of Haredi and national-religious soldiers, and is structured to accommodate their religious observances within military service.

Reacting from Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid tribute to the fallen soldiers: "On this difficult morning, the entire people of Israel bow their heads and mourn the deaths of our heroic fighters, who sacrificed their lives in the campaign to defeat Hamas and free all of our hostages. We embrace the families who lost their loved ones, and pray for the full recovery of those wounded in the incident."

The majority of IDF casualties in Gaza have been attributed to explosive devices—often placed inside buildings or along roads. On June 24, seven Israeli combat engineers were killed in Khan Younis when a Hamas operative threw an explosive into their armored vehicle.

As of Tuesday, 449 Israeli soldiers have been killed during ground operations in Gaza and on the Strip's periphery since the onset of the war.

The war was triggered by Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. According to Israeli authorities, 50 hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive and the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead. Hamas also continues to hold the body of an IDF soldier killed in 2014.

The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, claims more than 57,000 people have been killed or presumed dead since the outbreak of hostilities, though those numbers remain unverified and do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel asserts it has killed at least 20,000 combatants in Gaza and an additional 1,600 inside Israel during the October 7 assault.