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Seven Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday when an explosive device detonated on their armored personnel carrier (APC) during clashes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced Wednesday.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when a blast struck a "Puma" armored personnel carrier carrying soldiers from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion of the 188th Brigade.
According to a preliminary Israeli military investigation, a Hamas member managed to attach an explosive device to the APC while it was operating in Khan Younis.
The blast ignited a fire that engulfed the vehicle and killed all the soldiers inside.
The Israeli army released the names of six fallen soldiers cleared for publication:
The name of the seventh soldier has not yet been released.
Israeli military sources questioned why the 605th Battalion was operating with the relatively old Puma APC rather than the "Namer" armored vehicle, which serves as the main combat engineering vehicle for parallel battalions who are also operating in Gaza.
Israeli firefighting teams and soldiers used a D9 bulldozer to cover the burning vehicle with sand before towing the burnt remains out of Gaza.
Earlier Tuesday at 4:25 p.m., another clash occurred between Israeli forces and Hamas in Khan Younis. During that engagement, anti-tank fire wounded two soldiers from the 605th Battalion—one seriously and one lightly.
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Israel launched a new offensive on Gaza on Oct. 7, following an assault by Hamas. The attack resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the capture of approximately 251 individuals who were taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
In retaliation, Israel initiated an intense bombing campaign and further tightened the already severe blockade that has been imposed on Gaza since 2007.
Israel's subsequent air and ground campaign has killed more than 56,000 Palestinian people, most of them being civilians and children.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's war has displaced almost the entire population of more than 2 million and created a humanitarian crisis. According to Israeli military tallies, 19 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of June during combat in the Gaza Strip.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
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