Tel Aviv, June 25: On Wednesday, Israel reported the death of seven soldiers during military operations in southern Gaza, following an explosion that targeted their armored vehicle.

The tragic event occurred on Tuesday when an operative planted an explosive device on an armored combat engineering vehicle while the soldiers were traveling through Khan Younis, as per local media sources.

The explosion ignited the vehicle, and attempts to extinguish the flames were unsuccessful, resulting in the loss of all soldiers inside. The charred remains of the vehicle were subsequently removed from Gaza, according to reports.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) disclosed the names of six of the deceased soldiers on Wednesday and informed their families about the unfortunate news.

The identified soldiers include Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski, 21; Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe, 20; Staff Sgt. Niv Radia, 20; Sgt. Ronen Shapiro, 19; Sgt. Shahar Manoav, 21; and Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, 20. The identity of the seventh soldier is still pending confirmation.

All the soldiers were part of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, known as the 'Barak' Formation (188) of the IDF.

Earlier on Tuesday, another soldier from the same battalion sustained serious injuries during combat in southern Gaza and was evacuated for medical treatment, with the family being notified by Israeli forces.

In a related development, on Sunday, the IDF and Israel's Shin Bet security agency announced the recovery of three Israeli hostages' bodies from Gaza. These individuals were killed during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and their remains had been held in Gaza since then.

The deceased included IDF soldier Shay Levinson, aged 19, and civilians Ofra Keidar, 71, and Yonatan Samerano, 21, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Out of the 251 individuals, both Israelis and foreigners, who were taken to Gaza, 50 are still in captivity, with 20 believed to be alive, according to the Israeli military.