IDF probe finds troops carried out numerous steps to rule out threats before deadly blast in Khan Younis

The IDF releases its initial investigation into the deaths of four troops in an explosion at a booby-trapped building in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis last week.

The explosion and subsequent building collapse on Friday morning killed Sgt. Maj. (res.) Chen Gross, Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein, and Staff Sgt. Uri Yhonatan Cohen, and wounding five other soldiers.

According to the IDF’s investigation, several days before the incident, troops operating in the area used “a variety of intelligence means to scan the buildings ahead of future activity.”

After the examination, the military suspected that several buildings were booby-trapped.

Still, an IDF assessment before the incident decided that some of the buildings in the area would need to be used for the army’s planned activity. The IDF often uses buildings in Gaza as makeshift command centers during its operations against Hamas.

Two of the buildings were defined as likely booby-trapped, and their “benefit” for the activity was low, and the risk was unnecessary; therefore, they were bombed from the air and destroyed, the probe finds.

Next to a third building, the IDF located findings it suspected was an explosive device, but due to the “operational need and the building being essential” for the army operations in the area, it was decided to try and disarm the suspected bomb.

The IDF began a series of actions to rule out or neutralize the suspected explosive device before sending troops into the area. The actions involved sending a drone into the building and scanning for the suspected explosive.

The drone footage was reviewed by the commander of the force operating in the area, and the military came to the conclusion that it was not an explosive device, and there were no suspicious indications that the building was booby-trapped.

The troops also opened fire on the building’s two floors before approaching the area. Gunfire was also directed against the building a day prior by combat engineers.

Right before the troops entered the building, the soldiers hurled an explosive device into the first floor, in a last attempt to try and set off any possible booby traps.

The first floor of the two-story building was scanned by the forces and found to be clear of any possible explosives.

The troops then reached the second floor and spotted suspicious findings. The troops called for the bomb disposal squad, and the commander of the force made the rest of the troops step back, while staying with his signals soldier on the staircase.

Moments later, the explosive device was detonated on the forces, killing four soldiers and wounding five.

The IDF investigation has so far been unable to determine how the explosive was activated or what type of bomb was used.

The military says that the troops “acted in a professional way in a high-risk combat zone, and did the best they could to rule out all threats.”

The publication of the investigation comes after the far-right Channel 14 news claimed that the building was not targeted in an airstrike because of an order given by the Military Advocate General.