JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said Thursday four soldiers have been killed in the southern Gaza Strip, the first such deaths to be reported since Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza City in the north.

The offensive has sparked international outrage and mass protests inside Israel.

The deaths of soldiers announced Thursday could further erode support for the war among Israelis who fear that the fighting puts soldiers and hostages at risk.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A gunman killed two people at an Israeli-run border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan on Thursday, officials said.

The Israeli military referred to it as a militant attack and said that the shooter arrived on a truck transporting humanitarian aid. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said that two men, around 60 and 20 years old, were killed. The military said the attacker had been “neutralized,” without elaborating.

Three Israelis were killed in a September 2024 attack at the crossing, when a retired Jordanian soldier opened fire. That attack appeared to be linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The Allenby Bridge Crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and tourists. It was closed after the attack.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state. Violence has surged across the occupied West Bank since the Hamas-led attack from Gaza into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the latest war.

Israel is waging a major ground offensive in Gaza City that has forced nearly 250,000 Palestinians to flee, according to the United Nations. Hundreds of thousands remain in the city, large parts of which have already been destroyed in previous Israeli raids.

Israel cuts funding for award ceremony over film about Palestinian boy

Israel’s culture minister has cut funding for the country’s most prestigious film awards ceremony, saying this year’s best feature winner “spits” on Israeli soldiers.

Miki Zohar said that he was taking the step in response to Tuesday’s Ophir Award for “The Sea” — a story about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who sneaks into Israel from the West Bank in a quest to see the sea for the first time. The film will now represent Israel in the Oscar awards.

Zohar, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said that he was halting funding for the ceremony because of the film’s depiction of Israeli soldiers.

“On my watch, the citizens of Israel will not pay out of their pockets for a disgraceful ceremony that spits on the heroic Israeli soldiers,” he said in an X post. “The citizens of Israel deserve for their tax money to go to more important and valuable places.”

Israeli military to indict former officer over Lebanon ambush

The Israeli military said Thursday that it plans on indicting a former senior officer in connection with the deaths of two Israelis in a Hezbollah ambush in southern Lebanon last November.

Col. Yoav Yarom, who was the chief of staff of the army’s Golani infantry brigade, stepped down after the incident. Zeev Erlich, 70, and Gur Kehati, a 20-year-old soldier, were killed.

At the time, the army launched an investigation to determine who allowed Erlich into the combat zone with the forces and why he was allowed to enter.

In a statement Thursday, the army said its military prosecutor plans on filing charges against Yarom, pending a preindictment hearing. Such a hearing is a standard procedure.

According to Israeli media reports, Erlich wasn’t on active duty when he was shot, but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports said he was permitted to enter Lebanon to explore a local archaeological site.

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