Two Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah security incident

According to Israel’s Channel 14, an explosion occurred in an engineering vehicle belonging to the Israeli army in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hebrew media said four soldiers were injured in the incident, with two of them in critical condition. Some outlets reported that two soldiers were killed.

Israel’s state broadcasting authority reported that the Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes on Rafah following an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and armed militants.

Channel 12 added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a security meeting to discuss a response to the attack.

According to the same report, Netanyahu, along with War Minister Yisrael Katz and other senior officials, is assessing the security situation in Gaza to determine a response to what was described as a “ceasefire violation” in Rafah, southern Gaza.

The channel also cited informed sources as saying that the airstrikes on Rafah were aimed at protecting fighters of Yasser Abu Shabab, who had engaged in clashes with Hamas forces.