Israeli Forces Admit 11 Soldiers Killed in Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English

The Israeli occupation forces admit that 11 soldiers were killed in Gaza and Rafah in a "catastrophic" day for the invading forces.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) announced today that 11 soldiers from the 601st Engineering Brigade and the 179th Brigade were killed, with two others wounded during confrontations with the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media reported a severe incident in central Gaza, where the IOF acknowledged the deaths of two additional soldiers from the 179th Brigade due to an improvised explosive device (IED), which also injured two more soldiers.

The IOF also confirmed the death of a soldier from the Givati Brigade. He succumbed to critical injuries sustained during fights in Rafah a few days prior.

Earlier, the IOF had reported the deaths of eight soldiers and officers caused by an explosive device that hit a Namer armored personnel carrier in the Tel Sultan refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Among the dead was the deputy commander of a company in the 601st Engineering Brigade.

Additionally, a company commander with the rank of major, along with three other soldiers, was killed in southern Gaza a few days ago.

With these latest casualties, the death toll of Israeli soldiers since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7 has risen to 661. This includes 311 soldiers killed since the beginning of the ground offensive in Gaza. Furthermore, 3,617 soldiers have been wounded, according to the army's published figures.

Israeli media described Saturday's incident at 5 am in Rafah as a "disaster," noting that an armored vehicle in the Tel Sultan neighborhood was engaged while on the move. 

It took the military two hours to reach the vehicle, which was then towed to a secure location. Drones were deployed to locate the resistance fighters in the area, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

The media highlighted that Saturday's incident in Rafah was the most severe since the Khan Yunis incident on January 23, which resulted in the deaths of 21 soldiers.

Namer up in flames

The Palestinian Resistance killed eight Israeli occupation soldiers who were reportedly asleep in an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlets reported on Saturday. 

The news has emerged as Israeli occupation forces are launching an invasion into the western neighborhood of al-Sultan in Rafah.

Relating a slightly different course of events but with the same end result, the al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement in which it announced that on the morning of the day of Arafat Day, its freedom fighters carried out a complex ambush against Israeli vehicles penetrating the area of ​​the Saudi neighborhood in Tal al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah.

The cab of a D9 military bulldozer, according to the Resistance group, was targeted by an al-Yassin 105 shell, causing it to catch fire and resulting in casualties among its crew.

Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, a Namer APC was targeted with an al-Yassin 105 shell, which led to its destruction and the killing of all its crew members.

However, according to Israeli media reports, the eight Israeli troops were burnt to death in the attack, which targeted a Namer-type APC in Rafah. Prior to al-Qassam's statement, it was reported that an unspecified anti-tank shell was fired at the APC, which led to an explosion and a fire in the vehicle, killing eight soldiers sleeping inside it. 

The corpses of the soldiers were completely burnt, and the APC was destroyed, it was claimed. Among those killed was a combat officer in the Israeli occupation forces, Israeli media outlets reported later on Saturday.

It is worth noting that the Namer APC is one of the most advanced and heavily armored vehicles when compared to same-class vehicles internationally