Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah operation, IDF says

Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah operation, IDF says

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday in a blast in southern Gaza, marking the deadliest incident for the Israeli army since January. The soldiers were in an armoured vehicle when a major explosion occurred, reportedly detonating explosive “engineering material,” according to a preliminary investigation by the Israeli military.

The explosion happened in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, a key target for Israeli forces in recent weeks. Earlier, Hamas claimed to have fired a rocket at an armoured vehicle after setting up an ambush.

The soldiers were returning from an overnight operation in Tal al-Sultan around 5:15 AM local time (3:15 AM BST) when their vehicle exploded. Israeli media reported that the operation resulted in the deaths of 50 fighters, while Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said 30 Palestinians had been killed in the past day.

So far, seven of the eight soldiers have been named, Israeli media reported on Sunday morning.

Israeli ground troops are continuing their operations in Rafah, aiming to oust Hamas from what is described as its “last major stronghold.”

Aid agencies have raised alarms about the dire humanitarian situation in Rafah, where around one million Palestinians are taking refuge, according to the UN. The World Health Organization’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Wednesday that a significant proportion of Gaza’s population is facing “catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions.”

Several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have urged Israel to avoid a full-scale assault on Rafah.

Since the war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands more have been injured or displaced, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.