Tragedy struck in southern Gaza’s Rafah this morning as eight Israeli soldiers lost their lives in a devastating blast, marking the deadliest incident for the IDF in the Strip since January, according to the media reports.
Among the fallen, Captain Wassem Mahmoud, aged 23, a deputy company commander in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion from Beit Jann, has been identified. The names of the remaining seven soldiers will be released following notification of their families.
Initial findings from an IDF investigation indicate that the soldiers were inside a Namer armoured combat engineering vehicle (CEV) when the explosion occurred.
The incident took place around 5 am as the convoy, following an overnight offensive against Hamas in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighbourhood, was en route to secure buildings for rest, according to the media reports.
The Namer CEV, positioned as the fifth or sixth vehicle in the convoy, was struck by a powerful explosion. It remains unclear whether the blast resulted from a pre-planted bomb or if Hamas operatives directly placed an explosive device on the vehicle.
Investigators are also considering whether explosives stored outside the CEV contributed to the intensity of the explosion. According to the IDF, there was no exchange of gunfire during the incident, and the vehicle was in motion at the time of the explosion.
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