Uncles say soldier killed in Rafah blast was wounded on Oct. 7 but insisted on returning to battle

Relatives of Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud, 23, killed in a blast in Rafah yesterday, say that he was injured on October 7 but returned to the battlefield.

Mahmoud’s uncle Yusef tells Channel 12 news that his nephew didn’t tell the family of his hospitalization and insisted on returning to battle.

“Wassem served as a fighter and officer in the engineering battalion. On October 7, when the fighting started, he was wounded. He didn’t tell his parents or anyone else, he was hospitalized and returned to fighting with shrapnel in his hand and neck,” Yusef says. “He insisted on continuing to fight until he met his fate.”

The slain soldier’s uncle Sharif says the village of Beit Jann will be burying Mahmoud rather than celebrating Eid al-Adha.

“It’s hard, it’s a day of mourning. Instead of celebrating Eid al-Adha, we will accompany Wassem on his last journey,” says Sharif.

“The village canceled the events for Eid al-Adha in order to participate in the funeral. It is a tragic day for the people of Israel, for the State of Israel, a great loss,” Sharif says. “Wassem was meant to go and study, that was the last conversation I had with him. He was chosen as a representative from the battalion to go and study.”