The Israeli army announced this Saturday, June 15, 2024, the death of eight soldiers in a bomb explosion in the Tal al-Sultan sector, north of the town of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, where are the focus of Israel’s military operations.
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An armored vehicle blown up by an explosion
According to the British daily The Guardian, citing the Israeli Defense Forces, the eight soldiers were engineers. The armored vehicle carrying them was at the heart of a convoy of half a dozen other armored vehicles returning from a mission around 5 a.m. Saturday when it was destroyed. The vehicle “was hit by a bomb explosion”, the army said.
Earlier, Hamas’ military wing said fighters ambushed an armored personnel carrier, killing and wounding several Israeli soldiers, it added. The Guardian.
Biggest losses in an attack since January
“Our hearts are broken at these terrible losses,” reacted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a press release. But, he assured, “We must stick to the objectives of the war: destroy Hamas’s military and government capabilities, recover all our hostages, ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel […] “.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the explosion was believed to have been caused either by an explosive planted by Hamas or by an anti-tank missile.
“We must defeat the Hamas Rafah Brigade and we are doing it with determination,” did he declare.
These deaths come as fighting around Rafah continues and at least 19 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes, it added. The Guardian.
It was the deadliest attack targeting Israeli troops since January.
