Seven IDF soldiers died on Tuesday afternoon after an explosion in an armoured personnel carrier in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
An officer and six regular troops from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion were killed after an IED (improvised explosive device) was attached to their vehicle by terrorists, who then fled the scene.
The explosion set the vehicle on fire and all those inside perished as efforts to extinguish the flames failed. The IDF worked for hours to identify the bodies.
The names of those who died are: Platoon commander, Lieutenant Matan Shai Yashinovsky, 21, from Kfar Yona; Sergeant Ronal Ben-Moshe, 20, from Rehovot; Sergeant Niv Radie, 20, from Alikin; Sergeant Ronen Shapiro, 19, from Mazkeret Batya; Sergeant Shahar Manoav, 21, from Ashkelon, and Sergeant Maayan Baruch Perlstein, 20, from Ashkharah; Sergeant Alon Davidov (21), from Kiryat Yam.
Evacuation helicopters that were dispatched to the scene returned empty to their base. The outdated “Puma” vehicle was later towed back into Israel and the IDF are searching for the terrorists who attached the bomb.
Sources say the possibility that the disaster was caused by an RPG (anti-tank missile) fired from close range at the armoured personnel carrier, cannot yet be ruled out.
In a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the tragedy a “very difficult day for the people of Israel. Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I mourn and grieve the loss of seven of our fighters from the combat engineering battalion, may their memory be a blessing.”
He added: “Our heroic fighters fell in battle to defeat Hamas and to free our hostages in the southern Gaza Strip. On behalf of myself and the citizens of Israel, I send heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their most precious loved ones, and I share in their unbearable sorrow during this difficult time. May the memory of our fighters be blessed and cherished forever.”
Also writing on Twitter/X, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said: “The scene in Gaza is difficult, the battles are difficult, and the burden is unbearable” whilst defence minister Israel Katz wrote that “our soldiers fought heroically and fell during their mission to defend the State of Israel and return our hostages.”
The deaths have raised Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 440.
