The Israeli occupation army confirmed that an officer and three soldiers from the Givati Brigade were killed on Monday in fierce battles in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
This confirmed an announcement by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas, that they had detonated a booby-trapped house in Rafah.
“Al-Qassam fighters detonated a booby-trapped house inside which a Zionist force was holed up in the Shaboura camp in the city of Rafah, leaving the force members dead and wounded,” Al-Qassam said in a statement on Monday
“Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, our fighters destroyed the vicinity of the house that was blown up with mortar shells,” the statement added.
The Times of Israel reported that “ the troops all served in the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit,” adding that one of the soldiers, identified as Sgt. Yair Levin, is the grandson of former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin.
According to the Israeli army, the official death toll since the war began on October 7 has risen to 650, including 298 since the ground invasion started on October 27.
The number of wounded in the Israeli army since the beginning of the war has reportedly reached 3,786, with 1,917 injured since the ground offensive began.
Israeli hospitals and media, however, have indicated that the actual number of casualties is higher than reported.
