Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, in what is the episode with the heaviest toll for the IDF in the enclave since January. This was announced by the army of the Jewish State, which for the moment has identified only one soldier: 23-year-old Captain Wassem Mahmoud. The families of the other seven soldiers have been informed and their names will be made public later.
According to an initial investigation by the IDF, troops were killed inside a Namer armored vehicle at around 5am following an overnight offensive against Hamas in the northwestern areas of Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, during which troops from the 401st Armored Brigade killed around 50 gunmen.
The Namer was the fifth or sixth vehicle in the convoy and at one point was hit by a large explosion. It is not clear whether it was caused by a bomb planted on the road, whether Hamas operatives approached the vehicle with an explosive device and placed it directly on the vehicle.
Death toll rises in Gaza
The death toll in the Gaza Strip continues to rise. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, there have been at least 37,296 dead and 85,197 injured since the start of the Israeli military operation in response to the October 7 attack. The same ministry underlined that there have been 30 deaths and 95 injuries in the last 24 hours alone.