The IDF said on Tuesday that four of its troops were killed in an explosion in Rafah on Monday.
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Major Tal Pshebilski Shaulov, Staff Sgt. Eitan Karlsbrun, Sgt. Almog Shalom, Sgt. Yair Levin
Major Tal Pshebilski Shaulov, 24, from Gedera, Staff Sgt. Eitan Karlsbrun, 20, from Modi'in, Sgt. Yair Levin, 19, from the West Bank settlement of Givat Harel and Sgt. Almog Shalom, 19 from Kibbutz Hamadia, died when an explosive device detonated, demolishing a building they were in in the city's shabura neighborhood.
The military said six others were injured, five of them seriously. In February troops extracted two Israeli hostages who were held there.
An initial investigation by the military indicated that there was likely a tunnel beneath the building that was owned by a Hamas member involved in the 2006 abduction of Gilad Shalit who was held captive by Hamas for five years before he was released in a prisoner exchange in 2011. Hanas leader Yahya Sinwar was among those released in the deal.
The massive explosion was caused when troops who were dispatched to search the building hurled a small explosive they hoped would detonate any boobytrap left in anticipation of their entrance but the device triggered a massive explosion caused by multiple devices planted by Hamas, which brought the entire building down.