The Israeli military announced on Saturday that eight of its soldiers were killed in southern Gaza, where the conflict between Israel and Hamas has been ongoing for eight months.
The soldiers lost their lives during operational activity in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, according to an official statement.
Multiple Israeli media outlets reported that the soldiers were killed when their troop transport vehicle exploded near the city of Rafah, a location in the southern part of the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army launched an offensive on Rafah on May 7, despite international warnings due to the city's dense population of displaced Palestinians.
Among the deceased is Captain Wasim Mahmoud, aged 23. The families of the soldiers have been notified, the army confirmed.
Since the ground offensive in Gaza began on October 27, a total of 306 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including the eight who died on Saturday.
This incident marks one of the worst single-day losses for the Israeli military in this conflict.
The war erupted on October 7 following an attack by Hamas from Gaza into southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli data compiled by Agence France-Presse.
During the assault, 251 individuals were kidnapped, with 116 still held hostage in Gaza. The military reported that 41 of these hostages have since died.
In response, the Israeli military launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza, leading to 37,296 deaths, predominantly civilians, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, which is governed by Hamas.
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