Four Israeli soldiers were killed in Rafah after a building they were inside exploded, the IDF said on Wednesday. Five others were injured in the blast.
The soldiers, identified as Captain Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sergeant Amit Bakri, Staff Sergeant Dotan Shimon, all Givati Brigade combat soldiers, and Staff Sergeant Agam Naim, a paramedic, were on a mission to detect weapons in the Tel Sultan neighborhood when the explosion occurred. The IDF is investigating the cause of the blast.
Staff Sergeant Agam Naim was the first female IDF fatality since the offensive in Gaza began.
Since October 7, 713 soldiers have been killed, 346 of them since the IDF launched its ground operation.
Last week, the military reported that the Tel Sultan neighborhood, where six hostages were executed in a tunnel, still contained pockets of Hamas resistance.