Israeli commanding officer killed in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that a combat commanding officer was killed in an incident in the southern Gaza Strip, reported Xinhua.

The officer, Reei Biran, aged 21, was a squad commander in the IDF's Golani Reconnaissance Unit.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported that, a Golani force operating in Khan Younis entered a building suspected of being a "terrorist infrastructure." While the soldiers were mining the building, an explosion occurred, killing the commander.

Later on Friday, the IDF said in a separate statement that its armored forces, in coordination with the Israeli Air Force, eliminated an armed squad that approached them and posed a threat in the Khan Younis area.

It added that the armored forces dismantled "terrorist" infrastructure sites, both above and below ground, and confiscated weapons and military equipment.