The Israeli army announced the death on Saturday of eight soldiers, killed in the explosion of their vehicle near Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, one of the heaviest tolls for the army in eight months of war against Palestinian Hamas.
These eight soldiers “were killed” at 5:15 a.m. northwest of Tal al-Sultan, in the Rafah region, the army said in a statement published Saturday evening.
The armored vehicle in which the soldiers were “was hit following the explosion of a bomb”, specifies this same source. On the vehicle there were devices containing in particular “explosive materials”, she adds.
“The explosion was substantial,” the army wrote, stating that it could have been caused by the detonation of these explosive materials and that an investigation is underway.
“All this is not supposed to happen,” the army also indicates and this “large explosion made it difficult to identify and locate the bodies” of the soldiers.
According to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army, the explosion came “visibly from an explosive device installed in the area or from an anti-tank missile fire.”
Among the soldiers who died was Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23, according to the army.
“Their families have been notified.”
– “Collective loss” –
“The entire Israeli nation embraces its dear families in this difficult moment,” responded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office.
Mr. Netanyahu reiterated the “goals of the war”, citing in particular the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and the return of the hostages.
The Israeli army launched an assault on the town of Rafah, on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, on May 7, sparking strong criticism from the international community.
Since the start of the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 27, 306 soldiers have been killed – including the eight soldiers who died on Saturday, one of the worst tolls for the Israeli army in a single day.
On January 22, 21 reservists were killed during a single attack carried out by Hamas. In total that day, 24 soldiers died in combat in the Gaza Strip, according to the army, the deadliest day for Israel since October 27.
“Each soldier who dies is as if someone from our family died. We experience it as a collective loss,” reacted to AFP Graciela Barchilon, 68, who came to Tel Aviv this Saturday evening to demonstrate with thousands of people against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I feel a lot of anger and disappointment,” she added, calling for new elections to be held.
The war was sparked on October 7 by the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement carried out from the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count. established from official Israeli data.
Of 251 people kidnapped that day, 116 are still held hostage in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead, according to the army.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza that left 37,296 people dead, mostly civilians, according to data Saturday from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
