Tel Aviv: The Israeli army reported on Wednesday morning that seven of its soldiers were killed in an IED attack in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the army disclosed the identities of six of the soldiers, withholding the seventh’s name. The soldiers were part of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion and were traveling in an armored vehicle when the IED exploded.

A preliminary investigation by the Israeli army revealed that a Palestinian had planted the bomb in the Puma armored vehicle as it traversed Khan Yunis. The resulting explosion ignited a fire within the vehicle, thwarting attempts to extinguish it.

The army confirmed that all soldiers inside the vehicle perished due to the explosion and subsequent fire. The remains of the vehicle, now charred, were later extracted from Gaza.

In an unrelated incident in the same area, two soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion suffered injuries from RPG fire, with one soldier sustaining serious injuries and the other minor wounds.