Ten Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting in Gaza, including a colonel who had commanded a forward base for the Golani infantry brigade, the Israeli army has announced.
The death toll was updated on Wednesday from an earlier statement which said at least eight soldiers had been killed, among them Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, head of the Golani Brigade’s commander’s team.
Ben Basat is the most senior officer to die in Gaza since Israel’s ground offensive began in the enclave. He was set to retire from the army but decided to stay on when war broke out on October 7, Times of Israel reported.
The second officer pronounced dead on Wednesday was named as Sgt. Eran Aloni of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion.
The soldiers were reportedly ambushed in Shujaiya, a suburb of Gaza City. The ambush included gunfire and explosions.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, had said that they targeted Israeli forces in Shujaiya and caused casualties, but it was not clear if they were referring to the same incident.
The ambush marked the deadliest day for the Israeli military since their ground invasion of Gaza began, according to Wednesday’s statement.
A video shared by Alaraby TV purportedly shows some of the 10 soldiers at a school moments before they were killed.
