Seven Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza after their armoured combat engineering vehicle (CEV) was hit by an explosive device, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Wednesday.

The deadly incident occurred on Tuesday in Khan Younis when a bomb, reportedly planted by a militant operative, detonated as the vehicle passed. The explosion set the CEV on fire, and despite rescue efforts, all soldiers aboard died in the blaze. The charred vehicle was later recovered and removed from the area.

The IDF has released the names of six of the fallen soldiers:

• Lt. Matan Shai Yashinovski, 21
• Staff Sgt. Ronel Ben-Moshe, 20
• Staff Sgt. Niv Radia, 20
• Sgt. Ronen Shapiro, 19
• Sgt. Shahar Manoav, 21
• Sgt. Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, 20

All belonged to the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion of the ‘Barak’ Formation (188). The identity of the seventh soldier is yet to be confirmed.

In a separate development on Tuesday, another soldier from the same battalion sustained serious injuries during combat operations in southern Gaza. He was evacuated for medical treatment, and his family has been notified.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency announced the recovery of three Israeli hostage bodies from Gaza. They were killed during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and had been held in Gaza since.

The victims were identified as IDF soldier Shay Levinson (19), and civilians Ofra Keidar (71) and Yonatan Samerano (21). According to the Israeli army, of the 251 individuals kidnapped that day, 50 remain in captivity, including 20 believed to be alive.