فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Wednesday as a “very difficult day” following the death of seven Israeli soldiers in one of the deadliest incidents for Israel in over 20 months of war in Gaza.
In a post on the social media platform X, Netanyahu wrote: “It is a very difficult day for the people of Israel. Our heroic fighters fell in battle to defeat Hamas and free our hostages in the southern Gaza Strip.”
The Israeli military announced that the seven soldiers, aged between 19 and 21 and belonging to the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion of the 188th Brigade, were killed on Tuesday while operating in the city of Khan Younes in southern Gaza.
Military spokesperson Effie Defrin said in a press briefing, “Yesterday afternoon, during an operation, an explosive device was attached to a Puma armored vehicle of the brigade forces.” He added, “The armored vehicle caught fire. Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and attempted to extract the soldiers, but unfortunately, without success.”
The combat engineering soldiers were conducting a reconnaissance mission, according to the spokesperson. The military also stated that the incident is still under investigation.
Additionally, another soldier from the same unit was injured on Tuesday in a separate incident in the Gaza Strip.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, over 440 Israeli soldiers have been killed. The conflict started on October 7, 2023, following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,400 people, mostly military personnel on active duty or reserves.
On the Palestinian side, more than 56,077 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza due to the Israeli military retaliation campaign, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.
