Seven soldiers were killed in Gaza after an attack on their armoured vehicle, Israel said Wednesday, in one of the deadliest incidents for its forces in the more than 20-month war.
The troops were operating in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Tuesday when their vehicle caught fire after assailants attached an explosive device to it, the Israeli military said.
The army’s website listed the names of the seven soldiers, including a platoon commander from the battalion who “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “a difficult day for the people of Israel… Our heroic fighters fell in a battle to defeat Hamas and release our hostages”.
Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in October 2023 in response to attacks by the Islamist militant group Hamas, which seized Israeli and other hostages.
“Yesterday afternoon, during an operational activity, an explosive device was attached to an armored Puma vehicle belonging to the brigade’s forces,” military spokesperson Effie Defrin told a briefing.
“As a result, the armored vehicle caught fire. Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and made attempts to extract the soldiers, but were unsuccessful.”
The fatalities fuelled calls for a settlement to end the fighting in Gaza.
“The war in Gaza has run its course, it is being conducted with no clear purpose and no concrete plan,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing the families of those abducted by Hamas, said in a statement.
– Deadly Gaza fighting –
The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.
Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
The deadliest incident for Israeli forces in the war was recorded on January 22, 2024, when 21 soldiers were killed in the collapse of two buildings that came under fire from Palestinian gunmen.
More than 440 Israeli soldiers have died in the war so far.
The territory of more than two million people is suffering from famine-like conditions after Israel blocked all supplies from early March to the end of May and continues to impose restrictions, according to rights groups.
After Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir said focus would now shift back to Gaza.
The military said the funerals of two of the soldiers killed would take place on Wednesday afternoon.
Add Comment