The Israel Defense Forces reported the death of a soldier in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis on Sunday, marking the latest casualty for an infantry brigade deployed to the area late last week.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dennis Yekimov, 33, was identified as the deceased, bringing the total number of troops killed in the ground offensive against Hamas to 246. The fighting persisted in various parts of the Strip despite the conclusion of a two-week operation to clear a previously captured neighborhood in Gaza City.

Yekimov, hailing from Beersheba, belonged to the Bislamach Brigade, which suffered three casualties on Saturday in Khan Younis when soldiers entered a booby-trapped building. Fourteen soldiers were injured, six of them seriously, in the incident. The Bislamach Brigade replaced the Paratroopers Brigade on Thursday after three months of continuous fighting in Khan Younis.

Despite reported gains in the southern Gaza city, combat activities showed little sign of ending, with international efforts underway for a temporary ceasefire before the expansion of Israel’s ground offensive to Rafah in the south.

In central Gaza, an airstrike on Sunday morning targeted Mahmoud Muhammad Abed Khad, who led Hamas recruitment efforts for the terror group’s Zeitoun Battalion, according to the IDF and Shin Bet. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported casualties resulting from an Israeli drone strike on a truck.

Further north, the IDF concluded a two-week raid in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, aiming to prevent terrorists from regaining control. The operation resulted in the deaths of at least 113 “terror operatives,” according to the army. The IDF accused Hamas gunmen of operating in Zeitoun without a structured military framework.

Throughout the operation, four soldiers were killed amid attacks using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and explosive devices. Airstrikes continued in southern Gaza, with multiple strikes reported in Rafah and Khan Younis late Sunday.