Israel says 24 soldiers were killed on its deadliest single day during war in Gaza
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Family and friends of Israeli reservist Hadar Kapeluk, who was killed in combat in Gaza, mourn at his grave during his funeral at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on Tuesday.Tamir Kalifa for NPR -
Israeli soldiers prepare and fire mortars from inside Israel into Gaza, backing up troops near the Maghazi refugee camp on Monday.Maya Levin for NPR -
Israeli soldiers carry the casket of reservist Elkana Yehuda Sfez, who was killed in combat in Gaza, during his funeral at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on Tuesday.Tamir Kalifa for NPR
TEL AVIV, Israel — Twenty-one Israeli reserve soldiers died in a single incident Monday in which two buildings exploded and collapsed on soldiers operating inside after Hamas fired at a nearby tank, the Israeli military said Tuesday.
Another three Israeli soldiers were killed Monday while fighting in southern Gaza, the military said, bringing the day's death toll to 24, the highest number of deaths in a single day for Israel during its war with Hamas.
In total, 221 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the beginning of Israel's ground invasion of Gaza in October, according to the military.
"We share in the sorrow of their families for the heavy loss and know that the pain is unbearable," said Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military's chief of staff. "On this day, we feel the great and painful cost of war, but that which we are fighting is necessary and justified."
Deadly building collapse likely caused by Israeli explosives
The deadly incident Monday afternoon occurred near the Gaza-Israel border, where a group of Israeli reservists was "removing structures and terrorist infrastructure," military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a statement Tuesday.
As a group of soldiers operated inside and around a pair of buildings that had been laid with explosives, militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a nearby tank, Hagari said.
"The explosion of the structures was most likely from explosives laid by our forces, which were about to be used for demolishing terror infrastructure and buildings in the area," he said. "Simultaneously, there was an explosion that resulted in the collapse of two two-story structures, while most of the force was inside them and nearby."
"This war has a very painful and heavy price," Hagari added.
Additional soldiers were injured in the collapse.
The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its forces destroyed a building and a tank guarding the area.
The conflict has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza, health officials there say. The toll includes both combatants and civilians, the majority of whom are women and children.
Calling Monday "one of the most difficult days" since the war began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was carrying out a "thorough inquiry" into the incident.
Funeralgoers reflect small but growing anti-war sentiment
The news of Monday's deaths comes as sentiment in Israel about the war is shifting. A small but growing minority of Israelis are speaking out against the war, and thousands participated in a protest in Tel Aviv over the weekend calling for Netanyahu to leave office.
At a funeral Tuesday in the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery outside Tel Aviv, hundreds of people stood in the pouring rain to mourn Ilay Levy, a 24-year-old captain who was killed Monday.
His sister Ori, dressed in military uniform, said in her eulogy that she had enlisted in the army on Monday, hours before she learned her brother had been killed.
"Two days ago, when we spoke on the phone for the last time, you told me, 'Ori, I can't wait to see you in uniform.' So here I am in uniform," she said, as her mother wept.
Of the hundreds who attended the funeral, many knew Levy as a family member, friend or fellow soldier. Others had no relation but attended the funeral as a show of support for Levy's family.
Opinions were split about the direction of the war, though funeralgoers were united in their grief over its cost.
"I think we are in a war of no choice," said Rami Sherman. "We want to live here, to stay here. There are a lot of mistakes and problems, but our only way to survive in the crazy world of the Middle East is to stay united."
Abigail Shir, 24, was a schoolmate of Levy's. "On the one hand, I still think Hamas needs to be destroyed. But sometimes, I question how the war cabinet is doing, like if they make good decisions for us," she said.
"There is a quote in Israel that says, 'It is good to die for our country.' I don't feel like this anymore," she added. "Is it good to die for a country that's not functioning, that celebrates the hate between us?"
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Transcript
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Israel is in mourning after the deadliest day yet for Israeli soldiers since the invasion of Gaza.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
KELLY: Funerals like this one in Tel Aviv were held across the country for some of the 24 soldiers killed on Monday, all but three of them in a single incident. Still, Israeli ground forces are pushing ahead, and the military says it has encircled the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. NPR's Becky Sullivan is in Tel Aviv. She is joining us now from there. Hey, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLY: Hey. So I said 24 soldiers were killed on Monday, all but three in a single incident. So 21 died in one attack. What happened?
SULLIVAN: Yeah, this happened along the Gaza-Israel border. Israeli officials say that it happened between Gaza and Israeli communities. What happens, they say, is that a group of reservists were working to demolish infrastructure that Israel says had been used by militants. They were operating in a pair of buildings that the soldiers had rigged with explosives for demolition. But there were some militants hiding nearby, and they shot rocket-powered grenades at the building and a tank nearby. The building exploded and collapsed, and in total, between the building and the tank, 21 soldiers died. Hamas claims credit for this attack. Israel says that it's investigating. And then in addition to this, as you mentioned, you know, three other soldiers were killed in other fighting in southern Gaza. And so altogether, this brings the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since that ground invasion began to 221.
KELLY: Two hundred and twenty-one. What kind of reaction are you hearing there in Israel?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. I mean, the news - this news comes at a moment when people here are starting to speak out against the war a little bit more. There were some big protests over this weekend calling for an end to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So that's the context here. Today I went to the funeral of Ilay Levy. He's a 24-year-old captain who was killed in southern Gaza. And even though it was pouring rain this afternoon, at times there were hundreds of people there, including members of the public with little or no connection to him just coming to show support for his family.
And so I talked to a few folks there about their feelings, whether, you know, this deadly day changes anything with how they feel about the direction that Israel has taken. And opinions differed. Some people said, you know, this kind of war is hard, but we have to keep going. But another take that I want to play for you came from a 24-year-old woman named Abigail Shir, a former roommate of the soldier who died or a former schoolmate - excuse me - of the soldier who died. And she said, on one hand, she believes that Hamas does need to be destroyed. But on the other hand, she worries that Israel's leaders have started to lose sight of what she believes her country is about.
ABIGAIL SHIR: There is a quote in Israel that says (speaking Hebrew), which means it's good to die for our country. And I don't feel like this anymore. Like, is it good to die for a country that's not functioning, that celebrates the hate between us?
KELLY: Becky Sullivan, I want to ask about the other development I mentioned, which is the city of Khan Younis fully encircled now. What is the latest on what's happening there?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. Israelis really have been on the edges of this city for weeks. But over the past two days, really, they've pushed into and around the city. That's where they say that some leaders of Hamas are hiding out. The United Nation tells NPR that yesterday the fighting hit a U.N. training center where thousands of Palestinians had been taking shelter. At least six were killed. We talked to Zaher Sahloul, who is with a health nonprofit called MedGlobal. He was in Gaza today, and he says the streets of Khan Younis now are just full of civilians fleeing to Rafah.
ZAHER SAHLOUL: The road was full of cars where you have mattresses and luggages on top of the cars, families fleeing from Khan Younis area.
KELLY: Powerful reporting there from NPR's Becky Sullivan in Tel Aviv. Thanks, Becky. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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