Israel said Wednesday that seven of its soldiers were killed in Gaza when their armored vehicle was attacked, marking one of the deadliest blows to its forces in the 20-month-old conflict.
The troops were operating in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Tuesday when their vehicle caught fire after assailants attached an explosive device to it, the Israeli military said.
The army's website listed the names of the seven soldiers, including a platoon commander from the battalion who "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "a difficult day for the people of Israel ... Our heroic fighters fell in a battle to defeat Hamas and release our hostages."
Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023 in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which seized Israeli and other hostages.
"Yesterday afternoon, during an operational activity, an explosive device was attached to an armored Puma vehicle belonging to the brigade's forces," military spokesperson Effie Defrin told a briefing.
"As a result, the armored vehicle caught fire. Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and made attempts to extract the soldiers, but were unsuccessful."
The fatalities fuelled calls for a settlement to end the fighting in Gaza.
"The war in Gaza has run its course, it is being conducted with no clear purpose and no concrete plan," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing the families of those abducted by Hamas, said in a statement.
