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Seven Israeli Soldiers Killed in Hamas Attack in Gaza
A mourner holds an Israeli flag, ahead of the funeral of Israeli soldier Sergeant Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, who was killed amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Misgav, Israel, June 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Florion Goga
The Israeli military said seven soldiers were killed in a single attack in southern Gaza on Tuesday, the military’s deadliest day in the territory since a ceasefire with Hamas ended in March.
A lieutenant, three staff sergeants, and three sergeants, members of a combat engineering battalion, were killed when an explosive device planted on the armored vehicle they were traveling in ignited a fire, the military said on Wednesday.
The latest deaths are likely to increase public pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move strongly opposed by some members of his right-wing ruling coalition.
Public support for Netanyahu collapsed after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel from Gaza, which exposed Israel to its deadliest security failure.
But his standing has been boosted by his surprise decision to strike Iran — a campaign widely viewed as dealing a significant blow to Israel’s longtime adversary. Iran is also a major backer of Hamas, providing the Palestinian terrorist group with weapons and funding.
Attention has shifted back to Gaza following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a truce between Israel and Iran that came into effect on Tuesday and continues to hold.
Hamas’s military wing confirmed that it had carried out the deadly attack in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Tuesday. It said its fighters had also fired an anti-tank missile at another vehicle that came to help.
The deadliest day for the Israeli military since the war started was in January 2024, when 24 soldiers were killed, 20 of them in a single explosion.
HOSTAGES
The Gaza war has persisted despite mounting domestic and international calls for a ceasefire and to secure the release of the remaining hostages, as coalition members Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have pressed to keep fighting.
Netanyahu‘s right-wing coalition of secular and religious parties holds a narrow parliamentary majority, meaning the prime minister can ill afford dissent.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of some captives, this week called on the United States to push for a comprehensive deal that would secure the release of the hostages.
Twenty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, while Hamas is also holding the bodies of 30 who have died.
Netanyahu has demanded that Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, release the hostages, relinquish any future role in Gaza, and lay down its weapons in order to end the war.
Hamas has said it would release the hostages if Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdraws from Gaza. It has refused to discuss disarmament.
The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing close to 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Most of the hostages released so far have been freed through indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel. Others were rescued during Israeli military operations.
The post Seven Israeli Soldiers Killed in Hamas Attack in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.