Yahoo TV

STORY: :: June 15, 2024

:: Tel Aviv, Israel

:: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

"Israeli citizens, today we paid another heartbreaking price in our just war for the defense of the homeland. In deep sorrow, in heavy mourning, I bow my head together with all the citizens of Israel and mourn the fall of our heroic warriors."

"Despite the heavy and staggering cost, we must stick to the goals of the war: the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities, the return of all our hostages, ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel and the safe return of our residents to their homes - both in the north and in the south."

The eight soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised news conference, as forces continued to push in and around the southern city of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians.

The deaths of the soldiers may complicate the political situation facing Netanyahu, a week after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government, accusing the PM of having no proper strategy for Gaza.

The soldiers, all members of a combat engineering unit, were in an armored carrier that was hit by an explosion that detonated engineering materials being carried on the vehicle, apparently in contravention of standard practice, Hagari said.

The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said the vehicle had been trapped in a prepared minefield that set off the explosion.