Eight soldiers were killed in the explosion of a armored vehicle near the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Captain Wassem Mahmoud, 23 years old, from the village by Beit Jann, in northern Israel, is one of the soldiers killed. He was the deputy commander of the 601st Battalion. Previously, Hamas sources had reported “violent fighting” in Rafah, preceded by Israeli raids. The Israeli army says soldiers have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza there are 307 . As regards the last eight victims in Rafah, it should be noted that the vehicle in which the soldiers were traveling was in a convoy in the north-west area where the soldiers at first light “had killed about 50 militiamen in combat.” The vehicle, the fifth or sixth of the convoy, exploded for a while bomb planted on the road or, perhaps, launched by a Palestinian militiaman even if it is noted that the fighting in the area had ended.
“It’s a difficult Saturday. Eight of our best sons were killed in Rafah. Despite knowing the dangers, they bravely entered Gaza to complete the mission to destroy Hamas and free the hostages,” the Israeli Foreign Minister writes on Israel Katz. Meanwhile the death toll in Gaza since the start of the war it rose to 37,296, while the injured were 85,197. This was announced by the Strip’s Ministry of Health, updating the death toll and underlining that 30 deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours alone.
