Five Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza combat

Gaza: Five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, the military said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented a "difficult morning" as he visited Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump, who is pressing for a ceasefire in the more than 21-month-long war.

"All of Israel bows its head and mourns the fall of our heroic soldiers, who risked their lives in the battle to defeat Hamas and free all our hostages," Netanyahu posted on X. 

The Israeli military said the five soldiers, aged between 20 and 28, "fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip". 

Two others were severely wounded and "evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment", it said, adding their families had been notified.

Israeli military correspondents reported the deaths occurred when improvised explosive devices detonated in the area of Beit Hanun in the north of the territory.

During attempts to evacuate the wounded, soldiers reportedly came under fire.

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, said "the complex Beit Hanun operation is yet another blow delivered by our valiant fighters".

"The war of attrition our fighters are waging against the enemy -- from the north of the Strip to its south -- will inflict additional losses on it every day," the spokesman of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

In a post on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said "the unbearable news of the fall of five heroic sons in Gaza -- most of them fighters of the ultra-Orthodox 'Netzach Yehuda' battalion -- pierces the heart".

Opposition leader Yair Lapid meanwhile wrote: "For the sake of the fighters, for the sake of their families, for the sake of the hostages, for the sake of the State of Israel: this war must be ended."

Qatar said Tuesday more time was needed for negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, after US President Trump voiced optimism about a possible breakthrough.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week.

Israel and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.

Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings in Doha were focused on a framework for the talks, while a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said no breakthrough had been achieved so far.

According to the Israeli military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27, 2023.

The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. 

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,575 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.