Israeli newspaper Haaretz confirmed that 62 soldiers from the Israeli occupation forces had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of 2025. The report underscored that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not visited any of the bereaved families of the soldiers who were killed.

Israeli media also reported the death of an Israeli contractor working alongside the occupation forces in northern Gaza. 

Earlier this week, the Israeli occupation forces acknowledged that five soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda battalion were killed and two others were wounded following the detonation of explosive devices during confrontations in northern Gaza. The initial admission came after Israeli media had circulated preliminary reports of casualties.

Conflicting reports

However, subsequent updates from Israeli outlets revealed that a total of 14 Israeli soldiers had been injured in the same incident. Among the wounded, two were listed as being in critical condition, six sustained moderate injuries, and another six were lightly wounded.

Israeli media outlets described the incident in northern Gaza as “extremely serious” and “one of the most complex security events” since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023. 

This comes in light of a deadly ambush targeting Israeli occupation forces in northern Gaza late on Monday, carried out by Palestinian Resistance fighters. The operation killed five soldiers, including two officers, and wounded 14 others.

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Deadly ambush

Some of the soldiers were reportedly burned to death during the operation, which closely resembled a previous ambush on June 24, when seven Israeli troops were killed after Palestinian Resistance fighters targeted an armored combat engineering unit.

The latest operation is believed to have occurred in Beit Hanoun, a town in northern Gaza that has been under relentless Israeli bombardment since October 7, 2023.

Israeli media described the operation as "extremely serious" and one of the most complex confrontations since the war began.

Read more: Abu Obeida: Captive area surrounded, you won’t retrieve him alive

Abu Obeida threatens more Israeli losses

The complex operation in Beit Hanoun, which targeted an area the occupation forces believed to be empty after completely leveling it, dealt a significant blow to the prestige of the Israeli military, said Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

In a statement published on Telegram on Tuesday, Abu Obeida added that the war of attrition being waged by Resistance fighters across the Gaza Strip, from north to south, continues to inflict daily losses on the Israeli occupation.

"Our fighters launched their attack from the very ruins the occupation believed were devoid of life," Abu Obeida stated, adding, "The war of attrition our fighters are fighting across the entire Gaza Strip, from the North to the South, will continue to cost the enemy more losses by the day."

He also warned that even if the occupation previously managed to extract its soldiers from what he described as "the inferno", it would not succeed again, alluding to the potential for more Israeli soldiers to be captured in future confrontations.

Directly addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Abu Obeida said the decision to keep occupation forces inside Gaza was "the most foolish," cautioning that such a move would only deepen the occupation’s losses and prolong its failure on the battlefield.