Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces says, in one of the deadliest single incidents involving its troops since October 7.
The IDF told CNN the incident was still under review but preliminary findings suggested an armored vehicle carrying soldiers as part of a convoy had been hit by an explosion at around 5.15 a.m. local time during an operation targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in the northwestern part of Tal al-Sultan.
However, it’s unclear whether the blast was caused by an explosive device planted in the area or by the ignition of explosives being carried by the armored vehicle – or whether it was a mix of both.
“The current assessment is that the ‘Nemera’ armored vehicle got hit as a result of an explosion of a side bomb. In addition, on the vehicle there were engineering tools that include explosive materiel. The explosion was significant and may have been caused by the ignition of the explosive materiel on the vehicle. All this is not supposed to happen and therefore the incident is being examined,” the IDF said.
The Israeli military added the damage had been so great that it was difficult to identify and locate the bodies of those killed.
Earlier, Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said it had “carried out a complex ambush against enemy vehicles” operating in Tal al-Sultan, which lies west of the southern city of Rafah.
The militant group said it targeted a military bulldozer, which then caught on fire, killing and wounding the crew. When rescue troops arrived, the militant group then struck an armored personnel carrier, killing the soldiers.
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said it had been “a difficult Saturday.”
“Eight of our best sons were killed in Rafah,” he said, writing in a post on X. “While knowing the price, they bravely entered Gaza to complete the mission of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.”
The incident comes as Israel continues its push into Rafah, where there have been reports of air strikes and artillery shelling since dawn local time.
Ahmed Radwan, the media officer of Rafah Civil Defense, said they had received appeals to collect bodies and the injured but it was difficult for civil defense crews to access the area.
Some of the fiercest fighting of recent days has been seen in Tal al-Sultan.
Hamas on Friday said its fighters targeted Israeli tanks in the neighborhood with Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and mortars, while the IDF said it found tunnels between neighboring houses used by militants as passageways.
Elsewhere, at least 14 people were killed, including seven children, in Israeli strikes on central Gaza, the Civil Defense Directorate in Gaza said.
In total, 30 people have been killed and 95 injured in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
The conflict in Gaza began after the Hamas attacks of October 7, which killed around 1,200 people. Since then at least 37,296 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
