Four Israeli soldiers were killed and five others were injured on Friday morning in an explosion at a building in the Bani Suheila neighbourhood of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, the Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli army.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, 866 Israeli soldiers have now been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
“The building was booby-trapped, and the explosion caused the structure to collapse on the soldiers,” the army was quoted as saying. This comes as the al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad – said it ambushed multiple Israeli military vehicles also in Khan Younis on Friday, using barrel bombs and other explosives.
The military identified two of the slain soldiers as Sgt. Maj. (res.) Chen Gross, 33, of the Maglan commando unit and Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, 19, of the Yahalom combat engineering unit. The names of the other two soldiers will be released later, it added.
“Five soldiers were severely and moderately wounded in an explosion that caused a building collapse in Khan Younis,” the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported, citing the army.
It added that “among the five, a Maglan officer was severely wounded and four additional soldiers were moderately wounded.”
The Israeli army is facing growing logistical and mechanical challenges amid the prolonged war in Gaza, with mounting technical failures affecting its tanks, armoured vehicles, and weapons, according to Israeli media reports.
