Deadly explosion kills 8 IDF soldiers in Rafah

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are grappling with the aftermath of a devastating incident in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in which eight soldiers from the 601st Combat Engineer Battalion were killed during an operation early Saturday morning.

The incident occurred at approximately 05:15 local time and represents a significant loss for the Israeli military. It is the largest single-day loss of Israeli soldiers since January.

The soldiers, who are part of the Givati ​​Battalion 424 within the Brigade Combat Team 401, were involved in an operation against Hamas militias and terrorist infrastructure in the northwestern part of Tal al-Sultan. According to initial reports, their Namer armored vehicle was hit by a powerful explosion, suspected to have been caused by a bomb. The explosion was amplified by construction tools and explosives carried in the vehicle, causing severe damage and making it difficult to identify the soldiers.

“The incident has not yet been fully investigated. These are preliminary findings,” IDF officials said, emphasizing the complexity and seriousness of the situation.

The names of the victims whose publication has been approved so far:

Captain Wassem Mahmoud23, deputy company commander of the 601st Engineer Battalion, comes from Beit Jann

Sergeant Itai Amar, 19, from Kochav Yair in the West Bank

Sergeant Oz Yeshaia Gruber, 20 years old, from Menashe

Sergeant Orr Blumovitz20 years old, from Pardes Hana-Karkur

Sergeant Stanislav Kostarev, 21 years old, from Ashdod

Sergeant Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist21 years old, from Beit Shemesh

In another incident in northern Gaza, the IDF announced the deaths of two more soldiers.

Captain (ret.) Eitan Koplovich, 28 years old, from Jerusalem

Sergeant Major (ret.) Elon Waiss49 years old, from Psagot

Sergeant Yair Roitmana fighter from Samaria who served in the Givati ​​Patrol also died as a result of an injury sustained in a battle in the southern Gaza Strip on June 10, 2024.

The deadliest incident in Gaza occurred in January, when 21 soldiers were killed in an explosion following Hamas shelling that caused two buildings to collapse.