Eight Israeli soldiers killed in fighting in Rafah

The Israeli army said the soldiers, all members of a combat engineering unit, were in an armored vehicle when it was hit by an explosion that detonated the engineering materials it was carrying.

They said the incident happened early in the morning in the Tel al-Sultan area west of Rafah. The armed wing of the militant group Hamas said the vehicle became stuck in a minefield that had been planted.

Israeli tanks entered Tel al-Sultan and artillery shells rained down on the coastal area where thousands of Palestinians, many of them multiple times displaced, were seeking refuge.

Fighting in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, is still fierce. Photo: Reuters

Despite negotiations and international pressure, a ceasefire remains elusive in Gaza. Meanwhile, the situation has worsened as cross-border fighting between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Israel has escalated.

At least 15 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on two homes on the outskirts of Gaza City, residents said. Four others were killed in separate attacks in the south of the territory, medics said.

The Israeli military said on Saturday its forces in Rafah had seized a large cache of weapons, both above ground and hidden in a vast network of tunnels built by Hamas.

The deaths of the soldiers could complicate the political situation facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv again on Saturday to demand his government reach a deal to bring the hostages home from Gaza.

In a statement late on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu said there was no choice but to stick to the war's goals of defeating Hamas and returning the hostages.

Although polls show solid public support for continuing the fight against Hamas among Israelis, the protests highlight divisions in Israeli society that have re-emerged after a period of unity since the fighting began.

The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, said on Saturday that Israel could only take back the hostages in Gaza if it ended the war and withdrew its forces from the enclave. More than 100 hostages are believed to still be held in Gaza, of whom at least 40 have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

Bui Huy (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tam-binh-si-israel-thiet-mang-trong-chien-su-o-rafah-post299465.html