Five Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza bomb attack as Netanyahu and Trump discuss peace

Tel Aviv: Five Israeli soldiers have been killed in an attack in Gaza, the Israeli military said on Tuesday, while health officials in the Palestinian territory said 18 people had been killed in Israeli strikes, as violence raged even as Israel and Hamas considered a US-backed ceasefire proposal.

The attack and the strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited US President Donald Trump for talks in Washington.

Benjamin Netanyahu (third from right) meets President Donald Trump and senior US officials at the White House.Credit: AP

An Israeli security official said explosive devices were detonated against the soldiers during an operation in the Beit Hanoun area in northern Gaza, which was an early target of the war and an area where Israel has repeatedly fought regrouping militants.

Militants also opened fire on the forces who were evacuating the wounded soldiers, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to discuss the incident with the media.

The military said 14 soldiers were wounded in the attack, two of them seriously. It brings the toll of soldiers killed to 888 since the war against Hamas began in 2023.

The soldiers died about two weeks after Israel reported one of its deadliest days in months in Gaza, when seven soldiers were killed after a Palestinian attacker attached a bomb to their armoured vehicle.

Palestinians gather on Tuesday in Nuseirat, Gaza, for the funerals of people killed in Israeli air strikes.Credit: AP

In a statement, Netanyahu sent his condolences for the deaths, saying the soldiers fell “in a campaign to defeat Hamas and to free all of our hostages”.

Health officials at the Nasser Hospital, where victims of the Israeli strikes were taken, said one of the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing four people.

A separate strike in Khan Younis killed four people, including a mother, father, and their two children, officials said, while in central Gaza, Israeli strikes hit a group of people, killing 10 people and injuring 72 others, according to a statement by Awda Hospital in Nuseirat.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes, but it blames Hamas for any harm to civilians, saying the militant group operates out of populated areas.

Trump has made clear that, following last month’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran, he would like to see the 21-month Gaza conflict end soon. Netanyahu’s visit to Washington may give new urgency to the ceasefire proposal.

Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip last week.Credit: AP

At the two leaders’ third meeting this year, a private dinner at the White House, Netanyahu told Trump that he was nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, having earlier told reporters the president was “forging peace as we speak”.

“In one country and one region after the other. So I want to present to you, Mr President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize Committee. It’s nominating you for the peace prize, which is well deserved, and you should get it,” Netanyahu said.

The US president, who has long called himself a master peacemaker and made clear his desire for the Nobel prize, said the nomination was news to him.

“Coming from you, this is very meaningful,” he told the Israeli prime minister.

Netanyahu is not the first foreign leader to nominate Trump. Last month, Pakistan said it would nominate Trump for the prize, underscoring how foreign leaders appear to understand the best way to get what they want from the US president is to shower him with praise.

Outside, hundreds of protesters gathered near the White House, waving banners that read “Stop Arming Israel” and “Say No to Genocide”. They also called for Netanyahu’s arrest, referring to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Trump ‘firm’ on peace deal

Trump said last week that he would be “very firm” with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza deal and that the Israeli leader also wanted to end the war that has threatened to destabilise the region.

But in a sign of continued gaps between the two sides, Palestinian sources said Israel’s refusal to allow the free and safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza remained the main obstacle. Israel insists it is taking steps to get food into Gaza but seeks to prevent militants from diverting supplies.

The US-backed proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely.

Hamas has long demanded a complete end to the war before it releases the remaining hostages, but Israel has insisted it will not stop fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled.

‘No power to threaten us’

Meanwhile, Netanyahu appeared to play down the prospects of Palestinian statehood, describing the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as evidence of what Palestinians would do with a state.

Following the White House meeting, Trump said, “I don’t know” when reporters asked him if a two-state solution was possible, and referred the question to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu responded: “I think the Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us. That means a sovereign power, like overall security, will always remain in our hands.”

On Monday, the Israeli prime minister suggested a ceasefire was in reach and hinted that he would be willing to expand the Abraham Accords, which normalised Israel’s relations with several regional nations.

“I think we can work out a peace between us and the rest of the Middle East with President Trump’s leadership,” Netanyahu said.

He said the US and Israel were also working with other countries that would give Palestinians a “better future,” suggesting that the residents of Gaza could move to neighbouring nations.

“If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave,” he said.

The war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing about 1200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war, and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.

Trump and Netanyahu are also taking a victory lap after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which culminated in the US carrying out a series of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

At the dinner, Trump said the US and Iran were set to meet soon, and that he would consider lifting sanctions against Tehran “at the right time”.

Reuters, AP, Bloomberg

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