Their deaths bring to 307 the number of IDF soldiers killed during the ground offensive against Hamas and operations along the Gaza border, notes The Times of Israel.
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The Israeli military said Saturday that eight soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip in the deadliest attack in months.
Only one of the soldiers was named, specifies The Times of Israel: it is Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23, deputy company commander in the 601st battalion of the Combat Engineer Corps, originally from Beit Jann.
The families of the other seven soldiers have been informed and their names are expected to be released at a later date.
The deaths are expected to fuel calls for a ceasefire and increase Israeli public anger over exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox in the army.
The attack took place as Israeli forces continued to push in and around the southern town of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians, The Guardian said.
Earlier, Hamas’ military wing said fighters ambushed an armored personnel carrier, killing and injuring a number of Israeli soldiers, in the Tel Al-Sultan area west of Hamas. Rafah, where Israeli forces have been advancing for weeks.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 36,700 Palestinians, according to the Hamas health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies. Israeli losses, according to the compilation of several sources, amount to almost 1,500 people, civilians and all security forces combined.
Additional sources • The Guardian, The Times of Israel
