An initial IDF probe found that infantry soldiers on foot were hit by a roadside bomb in Beit Hanoun and came under fire while evacuating the wounded, the report added. The Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed the attack, describing it as a "well-planned ambush," in an Arabic statement.

Public pressure is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire and end the war in Gaza, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition.