Did Israel Confirm the Death of 7 Soldiers After Armoured Vehicle Hit an Explosive in Gaza?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Seven soldiers were killed in Gaza due to an explosive device.
- The soldiers were part of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion.
- The incident took place in Khan Younis.
- Efforts to extinguish the fire in the armoured vehicle were unsuccessful.
- Three Israeli hostages' bodies were recovered from Gaza after being held since October 7, 2023.
Tel Aviv, June 25 (NationPress) On Wednesday, Israel officially reported that seven soldiers lost their lives during military operations in southern Gaza when an explosive device detonated against their armoured vehicle.
The tragic event occurred on Tuesday, as an operative had planted a bomb on an armoured combat engineering vehicle in which the soldiers were traveling through Khan Younis, according to local news sources.
The explosion ignited the CEV, and attempts to extinguish the flames were futile. All soldiers inside succumbed to the fire. The charred remains of the CEV were subsequently towed out of Gaza, as reported by The Times of Israel.
On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released the names of six of the fallen soldiers, informing their families about the devastating news.
The identified soldiers are Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski, 21; Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe, 20; Staff Sgt. Niv Radia, 20; Sgt. Ronen Shapiro, 19; Sgt. Shahar Manoav, 21; and Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, 20.
The identity of the seventh soldier remains unverified.
These brave soldiers were part of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, 'Barak' Formation (188) of the IDF.
Earlier on Tuesday, another member of the same Battalion sustained severe injuries during combat in the southern Gaza Strip and was evacuated for medical care, as per the Israeli forces, who also noted that the family of the injured personnel had been notified.
In related news, on Sunday, the IDF and Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency announced the recovery of three Israeli hostages' bodies from Gaza during an overnight operation.
These individuals were killed during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Their remains had been held in Gaza since then, according to the report.
The deceased included IDF soldier Shay Levinson, aged 19, and civilians Ofra Keidar, 71, and Yonatan Samerano, 21, as reported by Xinhua.
Among the 251 Israelis and foreign nationals abducted, either deceased or alive, 50 are still in captivity, with 20 believed to be alive, according to the Israeli military.