IDF reports that eight Israeli soldiers were killed this morning in an explosion in Rafah, southern Gaza, marking the deadliest incident for Israeli forces in the Strip since January.
Only one of the soldiers has been identified: Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23, deputy company commander of the 601st Battalion of the Combat Engineer Corps, originally from Beit Jann.
The families of the other seven soldiers have been notified, and their names will be released later.
According to an initial IDF investigation, the troops were inside a Namer armored engineer fighting vehicle (CEV) when the explosion occurred.
The soldiers were moving in a convoy around 5 a.m. Saturday, following a nighttime offensive against Hamas in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, northwest of Rafah, during which troops from the 401st Armored Brigade killed about 50 militants, according to the IDF.
The convoy was heading to buildings captured by the army, so that the troops could rest after the night operation.
The CEV Namer was the fifth or sixth vehicle in the convoy and at some point was hit by a large explosion. It has not been determined whether it was a previously planted bomb or whether Hamas operatives approached the vehicle with an explosive device and planted it directly.
The military is also investigating the possibility that explosives stored outside the CEV may have contributed to the powerful explosion. Normally, mines and other explosives stored on the outside of a CEV would not cause injury to troops inside if they detonated.
There was no exchange of gunfire during the incident, and the vehicle was not stopped when the explosion occurred, according to the investigation.
These deaths bring to 307 the number of IDF soldiers killed in the ground offensive against Hamas and in operations along the border with Gaza. Last week, a police officer was killed in a hostage rescue operation, and a Defense Ministry civilian contractor was also killed in the Strip.
The deadliest incident in Gaza occurred in January, when 21 soldiers were killed in an explosion following Hamas RPG fire that collapsed two buildings.
