The military announced that two soldiers were moderately hurt on Saturday in separate incidents during fighting in Gaza, as fresh deaths were reported among Palestinians at an aid distribution site.
One of the soldiers was hurt in the northern part of the coastal enclave, while the other was hurt in the southern part. In the latter incident, two other soldiers were lightly injured.
All four were taken to hospitals, and their families were notified.
The injuries came as the Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that over 250 terror targets in Gaza were hit in airstrikes since Thursday.
The IDF said the targets included operatives, booby-trapped buildings, weapon depots, anti-tank launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels, and other terror infrastructure.
At least 143 Palestinians were killed in Gaza since Wednesday, according to statistics published by the Hamas-run health ministry on Friday night.
The strikes came as five IDF divisions, made up of tens of thousands of troops, continued to operate across Gaza.
The military said troops of the 98th Division located Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad observation posts and caches of explosive devices in Gaza City’s Shejaiya and Zeitoun neighborhoods.
Numerous operatives were killed elsewhere by the troops, including by calling in airstrikes, the IDF added.
Palestinian reports, meanwhile, said that aid seekers were shot dead and injured Saturday around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation facility in northwest Rafah, with the Associated Press quoting hospital officials and witnesses as saying that at least 24 people were killed.
The IDF pushed back on the Palestinian reports, saying the military was unaware of any casualties from troops’ gunfire near GHF distribution sites on Saturday.
A military official did say that several suspects were spotted approaching forces in Rafah on Saturday, hundreds of meters from the aid site, and that “troops acted to prevent the suspects from approaching and fired warning shots. No injuries from the gunfire are known.”
The IDF, in its statement, said it “continues to operate in order to enable the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Strip, and to allow passage to the distribution areas via organized and secured routes.”
The statement added that the IDF is continuing to investigate the claims of injuries on Saturday near the aid site.
GHF, an Israeli-backed US organization that seeks to circumvent Hamas in the distribution of aid, has faced harsh criticism from the UN and other aid organizations, which charge that it fails to meet the needs of Gaza’s population. Gazans have reported near-daily incidents in which groups trying to reach GHF facilities are shot at by Israeli forces, leading to mass casualties.
Israel, which accuses Hamas of hoarding aid, has also accused the terror group of attacking Gazan aid seekers near GHF sites and falsifying death tolls. However, Israel has also acknowledged that “several” Palestinian civilians have been killed near GHF aid distribution sites.
GHF commenced operations in May as Israel lifted a nearly three-month aid blockade on Gaza, amid a renewed offensive there that seeks to take over 75% of the Strip.
On Friday, the United Nations said nearly 800 people have died trying to access aid in Gaza since late May, with most killed near the GHF’s distribution sites.
GHF, which denies that deadly incidents have occurred at its sites, told Reuters the UN figures were “false and misleading.”
The IDF said Friday that it had issued instructions to troops in the field “following lessons learned” after reports of deadly incidents at GHF distribution facilities.
The IDF on Saturday also reiterated a restriction on Palestinians, in place since the beginning of the war, forbidding them from entering the sea along the entire coast of the Gaza Strip.
The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, reminded residents in a post on X that “security restrictions have been imposed in the maritime area adjacent to the Strip, and entry into the sea is prohibited.”
He added, “The IDF will respond to any violation of these restrictions. We urge fishermen, swimmers, and divers to refrain from entering the sea. Entering the sea along the Strip exposes you to danger.”
Nevertheless, the IDF has not enforced the restriction against Palestinians seeking to cool off in the waters on the beach, but only those heading out deeper into the sea.
The vast majority of the Palestinian population in Gaza is concentrated in areas on the coast, with tent camps set up on the beaches.
The war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, including 28 whose deaths the IDF has confirmed.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 53,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 451. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
Agencies contributed to this report.