Deadly Hamas attack: Details of Gaza City ambush that killed four ‘Israeli’ soldiers

A Hamas attack on an ‘Israeli’ military outpost on the outskirts of Gaza City today killed four soldiers and wounded one, according to a military probe cited by Hebrew media.

The soldiers were killed when a Hamas fighter threw an “explosive device” into their tank.

The attack, which occurred around 6 AM killed Sgt. Uri Lamed, 20; Sgt. Gadi Kotal, 20; Sgt. Amit Aryeh Regev, 19; and another soldier whose name has not yet been released.

Read more: Hamas attack kills four ‘Israeli’ soldiers in Gaza City: army

All four were from the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade. An additional soldier from the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade was moderately wounded in the leg during an exchange of fire with the fighters.

Initial Probe Details

According to an initial investigation, a squad of three Hamas fighters arrived at the entrance to the military bunker near the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.

They opened fire on the tank commander and threw an explosive device into the tank, killing the four crew members inside. “The crew was not sleeping inside the tank, and initial findings suggest they were alert and conducting searches,” said the report by YNET.

Soldiers inside the defensive position, who were awake as part of an "alert at dawn" procedure, returned fire, hitting at least two of the fighters.

At least one Hamas fighter was reportedly killed in the exchange. The army is investigating whether the fighters used a nearby, undetected tunnel to infiltrate the area.

The ‘Israeli’ military said Hamas has concentrated its efforts in recent weeks on carrying out guerrilla attacks on military positions in the Gaza Strip, attempting to catch soldiers off guard.