Israel army says eight soldiers killed in Gaza
The Israeli military said eight soldiers were killed in Gaza on Saturday when the armoured vehicle they were in exploded, in one of the deadliest blows for the army since the war began in October. Captain Wassem Mahmud, 23, and seven other soldiers "fell during operational activity in southern Gaza," the military said in a statement. "Their families have been notified." When asked if the soldiers died when the Namer armoured vehicle they were travelling in exploded, a military press desk officer said: "Yes." The officer said the explosion struck near Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah, where troops are engaged in fierce street battles with Palestinian militants. Saturday's losses were among the heaviest for the military since it began its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27. Twenty-one soldiers were killed on January 22 when rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire hit a tank near two buildings where they were carrying out an operation, the military said at the time. The buildings exploded as troops had planted explosives in them after the structures had been identified as "terrorist infrastructure" in the area, it said. Saturday's deaths take to 306 the military's losses since October 27. The war began with Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,296 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. (AFP)