Israeli soldiers accuse military of negligence after 7 combat engineers killed in Gaza

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) – Israeli soldiers have accused their army’s leadership of negligence following the deaths last week of seven combat engineers in a deadly explosion in southern Gaza.

The soldiers, from the Israeli army’s 605th Engineering Battalion, spoke to Israeli public broadcaster KAN on Friday on “systemic neglect and failure” in their combat gear.

According to the report, troops said their personal weapons, medium machine guns, and Puma armored personnel carriers frequently malfunction and do not provide adequate protection.

The Israeli army confirmed that seven soldiers were killed during an assault in Khan Younis after their armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.

The army has not commented on the soldiers’ reports, staying silent on what KAN described as “one of the worst negligence incidents since the war began.”

On Wednesday, Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, released footage showing a double ambush on two Israeli armored vehicles in Khan Younis.

Since Israel’s genocidal war began on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli army has reported the deaths of 879 soldiers and injuries to over 6,000 others, according to official figures.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.