Tel Aviv, June 25 (V7N) – Seven Israeli soldiers were killed when an armored military vehicle was destroyed in an explosion in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday (June 24) local time. The attack occurred near Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, and is being described as one of the deadliest single-day losses for Israel in recent weeks.

According to a report by The Times of Israel, the armored Puma engineering vehicle was apparently rigged with explosives by Palestinian fighters, triggering a blast that caused the vehicle to catch fire. Despite rapid response efforts, the flames could not be contained, and all seven soldiers inside perished.

The IDF has publicly identified six of the fallen soldiers, all aged between 19 and 21, as follows:

  1. Lieutenant Matan Shai Yashinovsky (21), from Kfar Yona

  2. Staff Sergeant Ronel Ben-Moshe (20), from Rehovot

  3. Staff Sergeant Niv Radia (20), from Elyakin

  4. Sergeant Ronen Shapiro (19), from Mazkeret Batia

  5. Sergeant Shahar Manoav (21), from Ashkelon

  6. Sergeant Mayan Baruch Perlstein (20), from Eshhar

The name of the seventh soldier has not been released as of this report.

All of the deceased served in the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, a unit often deployed for complex operations in volatile areas. The IDF’s preliminary investigation suggests that an explosive device had been strategically placed along the path of the armored vehicle during its mission in Khan Younis.

In a separate incident later that day, two Israeli soldiers were injured in a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack, also in southern Gaza. The IDF confirmed the injuries but reported no additional fatalities.

This latest loss of life comes amid ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip, where both sides have suffered casualties despite international calls for a ceasefire. Israeli officials say they are continuing operations to dismantle militant infrastructure, while Palestinian groups vow to resist until Israeli forces withdraw.

END/SMA/AJ