Seven Israeli soldiers were killed and around 17 others were wounded, some critically, after being lured into a complex ambush in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Tuesday evening.

According to the details, Israeli sources noted that the casualties involved two military units from different brigades and division-level formations. The reports also indicated that several soldiers were still unaccounted for on the battlefield, with serious concerns about their fate. Military helicopters reportedly evacuated the wounded to Tel HaShomer Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Israeli media described the incident as “difficult to comprehend,” given that both the killed and wounded were from two different units.

They reported that Palestinian Resistance fighters had set a sophisticated ambush for an Israeli force, setting fire to an armored personnel carrier of the Puma type while soldiers were still inside.

The cries of the wounded could be heard on video footage captured by Hamas fighters, before a second ambush was launched targeting the rescue team.

Israeli reports confirmed that the families of the killed soldiers had been notified and that some of the wounded remained in critical condition.

Later, the Israeli military command announced that seven troops from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, including a platoon officer, were killed in an attack targeting an armored personnel carrier in the southern Gaza Strip. 

Additionally, authorities announced the death of one soldier who served under the Multidimensional Unit, a special forces unit, due to the latest Iranian ballistic missile strike on Beer al-Sabe'.

This raises the death toll of Israeli troops on Tuesday to 8 and 879 since October 7, 2023.

Hamas' al-Qassam confirms two ambushes against Israeli forces

In a related context, Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that its Resistance fighters carried out a complex ambush targeting an Israeli force that had taken shelter inside a house, using an al-Yassin 105 shell and an RPG in southern Khan Younis.

The brigades said it inflicted casualties among enemy soldiers, killed and wounded, in the area south of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Moreover, al-Qassam said its fighters targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a Shawaz explosive device and an al-Yassin 105 shell, also south of Khan Younis.

Read more: IOF soldier killed, 10 wounded in fierce confrontations in Khan Younis