2 Israeli officers killed by roadside explosives in central Gaza, says army

Two senior Israeli officers have been killed by roadside explosives planted by Palestinian resistance groups in central Gaza, the army announced on Saturday.

One of them, logistics officer Maj. Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, of "the Jerusalem Brigade's 8119th Battalion ... was killed by roadside bombs planted by Hamas in the Netzarim Corridor area," the army said in a statement.

Releasing a separate statement, it said the second officer was Sgt. Maj. Mordechai Yosef Ben Shoam. Also 34, he was a "truck driver with the Jerusalem Brigade's 8119th Battalion ... was part of a convoy to supply troops in Gaza City's southern Zeitoun neighborhood with equipment," it added.

"During the drive in the Netzarim Corridor, a roadside bomb exploded, killing Ben Shoam and Maj. (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled," revealed the army.

According to the Israeli army's figure, the number of officers and soldiers killed since the start of the Gaza offensive on Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 692, including 332 in ground battles that began on Oct. 27 last year.

Earlier, the Al-Qassam Brigades, Palestinian group Hamas' armed wing, announced that Israeli soldiers were killed and injured after the targeting of two vehicles with anti-personnel explosives in their advance axis in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, south of Gaza City.