IDF announces four soldiers killed in Hamas attack on army camp outside Gaza City

Four soldiers were killed in a Hamas attack on the outskirts of Gaza City early this morning, the military announces.

Three of the slain troops are named as:

• Staff Sgt. Uri Lamed, 20, from Tel Mond.
• Sgt. Amit Arye Regev, 19, from Modiin.
• Sgt. Gadi Cotal, 20, from Kibbutz Afikim.

They all served with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion.

The name of the fourth soldier is set to be released later, the army says.

Additionally, a soldier of the Nahal Infantry Brigade’s 50th Battalion was moderately wounded in the incident, the army adds.

According to a preliminary IDF probe, three Hamas operatives launched an attack on an army encampment in the Kafr Jabalia area, on the outskirts of Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood at around 6 a.m. The incident took place shortly after troops had returned to the outpost following an overnight activity.

The operatives reached a tank at the entrance to the encampment and opened fire at the commander, who had his head outside the armored vehicle’s open hatch. The gunmen then hurled an explosive device inside the tank, leading to the deaths of the four soldiers, according to the initial investigation.

The probe also found that other soldiers stationed in the encampment returned fire at the fleeing gunmen, with at least two of them being hit. During the exchange of fire, the wounded infantryman was hit in the leg, according to the IDF.