IDF announces death of St.-Sgt. Zamir Burke in northern Gaza

St.-Sgt. Zamir Burke, 20, was killed in combat in northern Gaza, the IDF announced Saturday evening.

Burke, from Beit Shemesh, was a combat engineering squad commander in the 601st Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade.

An equipment operator from the same battalion was also severely wounded in the incident in which Burke was killed.

Wounded soldiers

In another incident, a soldier in the Armored Corps of the 46th Battalion and 7th Brigade was severely wounded in combat in southern Gaza.

In a third incident, a soldier from the 82nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade was severely wounded during operational activity in northern Israel.

The IDF struck a vehicle on Saturday morning containing terrorist and World Central Kitchen (WCK) employee Ahed Azmi Qudeih, who took part in the October 7 massacre last year at Kibbutz Nir Oz, the military announced.

The terrorist had been monitored for a while by IDF intelligence and was struck and killed following credible information regarding his real-time location.

The IDF emphasized that it was a civilian unmarked vehicle, and its movement on the route was not coordinated for transporting aid.

Following this incident, representatives of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories demanded immediate clarification and an investigation from international community leaders and WCK as to why the organization employed an individual who participated in the October 7 massacre and was involved in terrorist activities.

COGAT is also calling on international organizations operating in Gaza to provide Israeli authorities with details of their staff in the coastal enclave to ensure terrorists are not “exploiting existing humanitarian frameworks,” the IDF statement said.

The military noted that there is no link between the terrorist and any kidnapping incident.

The WCK later issued a statement saying it will pause operations in the Gaza Strip after the incident. It also said it had no knowledge of any individual in the vehicle having ties to the October 7 massacre.

In April, the IDF mistakenly struck a convoy of WCK staff, killing seven employees. The strike was widely condemned worldwide, including by US President Joe Biden, who said this was “not a stand-alone incident.”

Meanwhile, Israel estimates that Hamas is willing to compromise on several points of disagreement in the hostage deal negotiations, an Israeli official said on Saturday.

“Hamas is showing a certain degree of willingness to make compromises, but they’re not fools,” the official said.

Hamas wants to see this kind of willingness from Israel as well. “Hamas wants to push for a deal, but they want Israel to show more flexibility,” the Israeli official said.

He also noted that the release of the video of Edan Alexander is a positive sign from Hamas. According to him, in the coming days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold a situational assessment meeting on the hostages.

Yonah Jeremy Bob and Reuters contributed to this report.