Israel’s military said on Saturday that eight soldiers were killed in the deadliest attack on Israeli forces in several months in southern Gaza near the Rafah border. With this attack, eight soldiers have been killed in the deadliest attack on the Israeli military so far. Israeli soldiers killed fighting Hamas It has reached 307.

The army identified one of its soldiers as Captain Waseem Mahmood, 23, a deputy company commander in the Combat Engineering Corps. Details of the others were not yet confirmed.

According to the Israeli military, all the soldiers were killed inside an armored combat engineering vehicle (CEV) as they were heading to captured buildings for troops to rest after an overnight operation. As the convoy was moving, a huge explosion occurred, reports the Times of Israel.

Hamas earlier announced that its fighters had ambushed an armoured vehicle in the Tel al-Sultan area, west of Rafah, killing and wounding several Israeli soldiers.

Israeli forces have been advancing in the Rafah area for several weeks and today at least 19 Palestinians were killed in their attacks.

The Israeli military also said its forces had seized a large quantity of weapons in Rafah, which were hidden above ground and in an extensive tunnel network built by Hamas.

The soldier died at a time when Talks progress towards ceasefireThe attack is likely to strengthen calls for a ceasefire, and increase Israeli public anger at the leniency given to ultra-Orthodox military forces.

Israel launched a military operation after Hamas crossed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. During a brief ceasefire last year, the Palestinian group released 100 hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. About 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced from their homes.

World leaders are pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to end the war until Hamas is eliminated. In a recent development, the two sides are in talks over a ceasefire deal brokered by the US.