By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed inside Gaza in one of the deadliest recent military setbacks for Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Saturday.
Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23, from Beit Jann, and seven other IDF soldiers were killed in an explosion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the IDF said.
The eight were believed to have been driving in convoy following an overnight offensive against Hamas and died inside an armored vehicle, Israeli sources said.
Mahmoud, the only person publicly identified late Saturday, was a deputy company commander in Battalion 601 of the Combat Engineers Brigade.
His uncle, Sharif Ghanem, said his nephew returned to fight in the Gaza Strip after being injured at the start of the war. “A great tragedy has befallen us. Waseem was injured at the beginning of the war by shrapnel that penetrated his arm. He was supposed to undergo surgery, but he postponed it until the end of the war. Waseem was a determined and brave fighter; everyone loved him,” he added in published remarks.
The IDF said that the families of the other seven have been informed and will be named in due course.
DEADLIEST INCIDENT
Their deaths came after the Commando Brigade Combat Team, operating under the 162nd Division, “raided terrorist infrastructure, eliminated terrorists, and located many weapons above and below ground in the area of Rafah,” the IDF said late Saturday.
Saturday’s is the deadliest incident for Israeli soldiers since January, when 21 were killed when two buildings collapsed in central Gaza.
Four Israeli troops were killed on Monday after the building they were searching in Rafah collapsed.
News of their deaths came as Hamas-linked authorities claimed some 37,000 Palestinians were killed since Israel launched a counteroffensive against Hamas after the group killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 in Israel last year.
Israel’s government has given slightly lower Palestinian death toll estimates and says Israeli forces killed at least 15,000 Hamas-led fighters inside Gaza, as well as “1,000 terrorists” inside Israel on October 7.
More than 700 Israeli soldiers and members of security forces have been killed since October 7, according to military estimates.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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