Israeli media report eleven soldiers killed in Gaza

Israeli media reported that eleven soldiers from the 601st and 129th battalions were killed and two others injured in clashes with the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.

So far, the military command of the occupying power has acknowledged the deaths of eight officers and soldiers from the aforementioned battalions.

Israeli media reported a serious incident in central Gaza, in which the IOF confirmed the death of two more soldiers from the 129th Battalion by an improvised explosive device (IED), in which two other soldiers were also injured.

The IOF also confirmed the death of a soldier from the Givati ​​Brigade. He succumbed to serious injuries sustained during fighting in Rafah a few days earlier.

The IOF had previously reported the death of eight soldiers and officers when an explosive device hit a Namer armored personnel carrier in the Tal al-Sultan refugee camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Among the dead was the deputy commander of a company of the 601st Engineer Battalion.

In addition, a few days ago, a company commander with the rank of major and three other soldiers were killed in the south of the Gaza Strip.

With these latest casualties, the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the war on Gaza began on October 7 has risen to 661. This includes 311 soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive in Gaza. In addition, 3,617 soldiers were wounded, according to published army figures.

Israeli media described the incident in Rafah at 5 a.m. Saturday as a “catastrophe,” noting that an armored vehicle was attacked while driving in the Tell al-Sultan neighborhood.

It took the military two hours to reach the vehicle, which was then towed to a safe location. Drones were used to locate the resistance fighters in the area, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

Media stressed that Saturday’s incident in Rafah was the worst since the incident in Khan Younis on January 23, in which 21 soldiers were killed.

Namer burns

The Palestinian resistance killed eight Israeli occupation soldiers who were reportedly sleeping in an armored personnel carrier in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Saturday.

The news came to light just as Israeli occupation forces were launching an invasion of the western Tell al-Sultan district of Rafah.

The al-Qassam Brigades described a slightly different sequence of events, but with the same end result. They claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying that on the morning of Arafat Day, their freedom fighters had carried out a complex ambush on Israeli vehicles that had entered the area of ​​the Saudi neighborhood of Tell al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah.

According to the resistance group, the cab of a D9 military bulldozer was hit by an Al-Yassin-105 shell, causing it to catch fire and causing casualties among the crew.

Immediately after the rescue team arrived, a Namer APC was attacked by an Al-Yassin 105 shell, resulting in its destruction and the death of all crew members.

However, according to Israeli media reports, the eight Israeli soldiers were burned to death in the attack on a Namer armored personnel carrier in Rafah. Before al-Qassam’s statement, it was reported that an unspecified anti-tank grenade was fired at the armored personnel carrier, causing an explosion and fire in the vehicle, killing eight soldiers sleeping inside.

The bodies of the soldiers were completely burned and the armored transport vehicle was destroyed, it was said. Among those killed was a combat officer of the Israeli occupation forces, Israeli media reported later on Saturday.

It is worth noting that the Namer APC is one of the most modern and heavily armored vehicles in international comparison with vehicles of the same class.