The military released a statement on Monday stating that the troops were “killed in fighting in south Gaza,” without providing any details on their demise.
The troops were slain in an explosion in a structure in the far-southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced on Monday night that its militants had “booby-trapped” a structure in the Shabura refugee camp in Rafah.
“A Zionist force was locked up within a booby-trapped house that the Qassam mujahideen were able to detonate… resulting in the death and injuries of Israeli soldiers, the group alleged in a statement.
Seven troops were injured in the explosion as well, five of them critically, according to The Times of Israel.
With the most recent killings, the military’s total losses since starting its ground incursion in Gaza on October 27 had reached 298.
Since beginning its contentious ground assault on the city on May 7, the IDF and Palestinian terrorists have been engaged in street combat in Rafah.
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Out of concern for the security of Palestinian civilians seeking shelter in the city, some foreign governments—including the US—opposed the operation. Since then, a great number of people had left, taking refuge wherever they could.
1,194 persons were killed in Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, according to an AFP count based on Israeli government numbers. This incident was the catalyst for the Gaza conflict.