Seven Israeli soldiers were killed on Tuesday at Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, when their armoured vehicle was hit by an explosive.
Israel's military spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said on Wednesday that the blast took place when a bomb attached to their tank set the armoured vehicle on fire. “Helicopters and rescue forces were sent to the spot. They made attempts to rescue the fighters, but without success. This is a complex event that is still being investigated. When the investigation is completed, we will present it first to the families and then to the public. This is our duty,” said Defrin.
Turning to Iran, he said Israel had “significantly damaged” its nuclear program and “set it back by years”. This announcement by Israeli officials comes a day after witnesses in Gaza claimed that Israeli forces and drones opened fire towards hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid in southern and central Gaza early on Tuesday, killing 44 people.
Hamas’ military wing Al-Qassam Brigades said on Tuesday that it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip. Some soldiers were killed and other injured after they were targeted by a Yassin 105 missile and another missile south of Khan Younis, Hamas said.
Al-Qassam fighters then targeted the building with machine guns. It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the Israeli military's announcement about the death of seven of its soldiers in a bomb blast in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Palestine claimed that Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman in East Jerusalem on Tuesday night. Marouf Al-Refai, an adviser to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, said Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Zahia Obeidi by shooting her in the head. Refai said Israeli forces arrested her husband and sons later, but it was not clear whether they had been released.
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