Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said, as forces continued to push in and around the southern city of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians.

The soldiers, all members of a combat engineering unit, were in an armoured carrier that was hit by an explosion that detonated engineering materials being carried on the vehicle, apparently in contravention of standard practice, the military said. It said the early morning incident, in the Tel al-Sultan area in the west of Rafah, was being investigated, Reuters reported.

The armed wing of Hamas said the vehicle had been trapped in a prepared minefield that set off the explosion.

Israeli tanks advanced in Tel al-Sultan and shells landed in the coastal area, where thousands of Palestinians, many of them displaced several times already, have sought refuge.

Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to halt the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months since the start of the war in October, with the near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah militia fighters in southern Lebanon intensifying.

In Israeli airstrikes on two houses in Gaza City suburbs, residents said at least 15 people were killed. Four others were killed in separate attacks in the south, medics said.

The Israeli military on Saturday said its forces in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, close to the border with Egypt, had captured large quantities of weapons, both above ground and concealed in the extensive tunnel network built by Hamas.

It said militants had on Friday fired five rockets from the humanitarian area in central Gaza, two of which fell in open areas in Israel and three fell short in Gaza.

“This is a further example of the cynical exploitation of humanitarian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields by terror organizations in the Gaza Strip for their terrorist attacks,” the military said.

PROTESTS

The deaths of the soldiers may complicate the political situation facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a week after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government, accusing Netanyahu of having no proper strategy for Gaza.

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday in the latest of the now weekly protests by families and supporters of hostages still held by Hamas, demanding an agreement to bring them home.

In a video statement issued late on Saturday, Netanyahu said there was no alternative but to stick to the goals of the war to defeat Hamas and bring the hostages back.

Although surveys show solid support among the Israeli public for continuing the war against Hamas, the protests underscore the divisions in Israeli society that have reopened following a period of unity at the start of the war.

The Islamic Jihad armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, said on Saturday Israel could only regain its hostages in Gaza if it ended the war and pulled out forces from the enclave.

Islamic Jihad is a smaller ally of Hamas, which led a rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, although at least 40 have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.

Since a week-long truce in November, repeated attempts to arrange a ceasefire have failed, with Hamas insisting on a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu refuses to end the war before Hamas is eradicated.

At least 37,296 Palestinians, at least 30 of them in the past 24 hours, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Hamas, according to the Gaza health ministry.

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More than 1.5 million Muslims braved extreme heat to reach Mount Arafat on Saturday for the high point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, praying for hours, especially for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza.

Clad in white, worshippers began arriving at dawn for the most gruelling day of the annual rites, ascending the rocky, 70-metre (230-foot) hill where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon, AFP reported.

“This is the most important day,” said 46-year-old Egyptian Mohammed Asser, who came prepared with a list of prayers. “I pray also for the Palestinians. May God help them.”

This year’s hajj is unfolding in the shadow of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7.

The assault resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 37,266 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry.

Saudi Arabia’s minister in charge of religious pilgrimages, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, warned last week that “no political activity” would be tolerated during the hajj.

But that did not stop at least one pilgrim from chanting in support of the Palestinians who have endured more than eight months of incessant bombardment.

“Pray for our brothers in Palestine, in Gaza… may God give victory to the Muslims,” he shouted.

In a message to hajj pilgrims on Saturday, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “the ironclad resistance of Palestine and the patient, oppressed people of Gaza… must be fully supported in every way”.

Some 2,000 Palestinians are performing the hajj at the special invitation of Saudi King Salman, official media said.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement on Thursday aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defense against Russian invaders and getting Ukraine closer to NATO membership, Reuters reported.

The deal, signed on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, aims to commit future U.S. administrations to support Ukraine, even if former President Donald Trump wins November’s election, officials said.

“Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term,” Biden said at a joint news conference with Zelenskiy.

He said the G7’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin is “You cannot wait us out. You cannot divide us.” The group of rich nations also agreed to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.

The U.S.-Ukraine security deal is a framework for a long-term effort to help develop Ukraine’s outdated armed forces and serve as a step towards Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership, according to the text.

The Ukraine president called the agreement historic, saying it is a bridge toward his country’s eventual NATO membership. “This is an agreement on security and thus on the protection of human life,” he said.

Zelenskiy has long sought NATO membership but the allies have stopped short of taking that step. The Western alliance regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article Five clause, read the report.

In the event of an armed attack or threat of such against Ukraine, top U.S. and Ukrainian officials will meet within 24 hours to consult on a response and determine what additional defense needs are required for Ukraine, the agreement says.

Under the agreement, the United States restates its support for Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, amid a renewed push by Russia on Ukraine’s eastern front.

It also outlines plans to develop Ukraine’s own defense industry and expand its military.

Ukraine needs a “significant” military force and sustained investments in its defense industrial base consistent with NATO standards, the text says.

It will allow the two countries to share intelligence, hold training and military education programs and combined military and exercises.

With Trump leading Biden in many election polls, the future of the agreement remains unclear.

Trump has expressed skepticism of Ukraine’s continued fight, saying at one point that he would end the conflict in his first day in office. Trump has also pushed for Europe to take on more of the burden of supporting Kyiv, Reuters reported.

Zelenskiy, asked about what could happen for his country if there is a change in leadership in the United States and in other allied nations, said people stood with Ukraine because they have shared values and empathize with the Ukrainian people.

He said he does not think that popular support will change.

“If the people are with us, any leader will be with us in this struggle for freedom,” he said.

Biden recently shifted his policy against allowing Ukraine to use American weapons for attacks inside Russia, permitting Kyiv to fire long-range U.S. missiles against Russian targets near the embattled Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

At the news conference, Biden made clear he would not permit Ukraine to expand its use of U.S. missiles inside Russia.

“It makes a lot of sense for Ukraine to be able to take out or combat what is going across that border. In terms of long range weapons … we have not changed our position on that,” Biden said.

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