Stuart Steinberg, whose family lives in California, said his 24-year-old son, Max Steinberg, was one of the 13 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza on Sunday.
The Israeli army also confirmed that Palestinian fighters also killed a 21-year-old American citizen, Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, from Texas, during the invasion of Gaza by the Israeli forces.
The US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki in a statement confirmed “the deaths of US citizens Max Steinberg and Sean Carmeli in Gaza.”
The Israeli military said on Sunday that 13 Israeli troops were killed in Gaza on the third day of its ground operation, bringing to 18 the number of soldiers killed since Thursday.
The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, however, says Palestinian resistance fighters have killed at least 32 Israeli soldiers since Saturday.
Late on Sunday, the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades said its fighters had captured an Israeli soldier, identified as Shaul Aron, during Tel Aviv’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israel has denied the statement.
Meanwhile, according to figures provided by Palestinian emergency services, the total number of Gazans killed since the beginning of the Israeli military operations against Gaza on July 8 stands at 504. More than 3,000 people have also been injured in the attacks.
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