The Israeli “Hadshot Bazman” website said that 8 soldiers were killed as a result of a “Nimr” armored personnel carrier completely burning after it was targeted at dawn on Saturday with an anti-tank missile in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli website added that military helicopters transported the bodies of the soldiers – all from the engineering corps – in the Rafah accident to Beilinson and Shaare Zedek hospitals, stressing that 8 families were informed of the killing of their children.
Several Israeli accounts on social media platforms circulated the news, saying, “At approximately 5 a.m. local time, an anti-missile was fired at an armored vehicle containing 8 soldiers and officers. It exploded immediately and completely engulfed all the soldiers sleeping inside it. The eight were killed instantly and burned.” inside the vehicle.”
There has been no official announcement yet from the Palestinian resistance factions about the truth of what happened. But Al-Aqsa satellite channel said that the occupation forces intensified their artillery and air bombardment on Rafah to cover up the security event and evacuate the wounded and dead.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent reported that Israeli helicopters, artillery and naval boats have continued their violent bombardment since the morning hours on the western areas of the city of Rafah.
For its part, the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – announced the targeting of an Israeli D-9 bulldozer with an “Al-Yassin 105” shell in the Saudi neighborhood of Tal Al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah.
The Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that they have been waging fierce battles with the Israeli occupation forces penetrating west of the Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood since yesterday morning, Friday.
In turn, the Al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement – said that they, in conjunction with the Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, bombed the Kissufim military site with a missile salvo.
Al-Saraya also published scenes of an Israeli soldier being sniped in the Netzarim axis, southwest of Gaza City.
psychiatric disturbances
Meanwhile, the newspaper “Jerusalem Post” quoted the Israeli organization “Nafgasim” as saying that thousands of soldiers in the Israeli army are returning from the Gaza Strip suffering from “post-traumatic stress disorder.”
The organization added that more than 10,000 reserve soldiers have requested mental health services.
For his part, the organization’s president, David Solomon, said that there is an increasing need to support reserve soldiers and their families to transition from the routine of combat to civilian life.
Solomon emphasized that the difficulties related to the mental health of reservists pose a dilemma for them and place them in the midst of a struggle between readiness for service and their desire to preserve their families and livelihoods.
A few days ago, Israeli Radio reported that a soldier committed suicide after receiving an order to return to military service in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” revealed that 10 Israeli officers and soldiers have committed suicide since October 7, a number of whom committed suicide during the battles in the settlements surrounding Gaza.
Last month, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that an internal poll in the Israeli army showed that only 42% of officers in permanent military service wanted to continue serving after the end of the war on Gaza, compared to 49% recorded in August last year.
The Israeli army acknowledged that the number of soldiers wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023 reached 3,763, of whom 1,902 were wounded since the beginning of the ground battles on the 27th of the same month.
The number of dead in the occupation army has reached 646 soldiers and officers since the beginning of the war, including 294 killed in ground battles in the Gaza Strip. However, Israeli hospitals and media have confirmed that the actual number of dead and injured in the army is greater than what is announced.
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + Agencies + Israeli press