Two IDF soldiers killed when armored vehicle hit by explosive in Khan Younis
Cpt. Amir Saad and Sgt. Inon Nuriel Vana served as technology and maintenance troops in Golani recon unit; terror operatives apparently emerged from tunnel, planted explosive on side of APC
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and an officer was moderately wounded by an explosive device in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, the military announced Sunday morning.
The slain soldiers were named as:
- Cpt. Amir Saad, 22, a Technology and Maintenance Corps officer serving in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Yanuh-Jat
- Sgt. Inon Nuriel Vana, 20, a Technology and Maintenance Corps soldier serving in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Kiryat Tiv’on
According to an initial IDF investigation, the soldiers were inside a Namer armored personnel carrier that was hit by an explosive device during operations in Khan Younis.
The preliminary probe found that Hamas terror operatives apparently emerged from a tunnel and planted the explosive on the side of the APC being used to transport the technology and maintenance forces, who are tasked with repairing army equipment inside Gaza.
The blast killed Saad and Vana, and wounded an officer in the Golani reconnaissance unit. He was taken to a hospital in moderate condition, the army said.
The military said it was continuing to investigate how the bomb was detonated.
The Hamas operatives hurled a second explosive device at another APC in the area. However, it did not explode, and the Golani soldiers inside were unharmed, according to the initial investigation.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Telegram channel.
In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences.
“Our brave soldiers risked their lives in the campaign to defeat the Hamas murderers and for the sacred mission of freeing our hostages,” he said in a statement.
On Saturday, a reservist combat engineer who was seriously wounded by a roadside bomb in the southern Gaza Strip a week before succumbed to his wounds.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 459. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
Saturday’s deaths were announced as the military began implementing 10-hour daily pauses in fighting in densely populated areas of Gaza amid a push to get much-needed humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.
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