JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday the deaths of four soldiers in Gaza, with local journalists who cover the military reporting they were all killed in a booby-trapped building.

Netanyahu extended his condolences “to the families of our four fallen heroes in Gaza in the fight to defeat Hamas and bring back our hostages”, naming two of the soldiers as Staff Sergeant Yoav Raver and reservist Sergeant Major Chen Gross.

The names of the other two soldiers have not yet been cleared for publication, the military said.

Their deaths bring the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive in Gaza to 429. The Israeli military said the four were killed in southern Gaza, with media reporting they were in a house in the city of Khan Yunis when it exploded.

The army said another reserve officer was severely wounded in the same incident.

Israel recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2025