OAN Staff Blake Wolf
4:14 PM – Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Seven Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in southern Gaza on Wednesday, marking one of the most lethal incidents involving the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in recent months.
21-year-old Matan Shai Yashinovski, 20-year-old Ronel Ben-Moshe, 20-year-old Niv Radia, 19-year-old Ronen Shapiro, 21-year-old Shahar Manoav, 20-year-old Maayan Baruch Pearlstein, and 21-year-old Alon Davidov were named as the now-deceased IDF soldiers in the 605th battalion.
The soldiers lost their lives after Hamas operatives reportedly detonated an explosive device beneath their armored vehicle, igniting a fire.
“Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and made attempts to extract the soldiers but were unsuccessful,” stated Israeli army spokesperson Effie Defrin.
The recent deaths of the Israeli soldiers now raises the total to 879 — since October 7, 2023.
Shortly after the tragic news was reported by the Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement expressing his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers.
“Heroic soldiers fell in the battle to defeat Hamas and free our hostages in the southern Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu stated.
“On my behalf and on behalf of the citizens of Israel, I send my deepest condolences to the families who lost their dearest loved ones, and I share with them in their unbearable grief at this difficult time,” he added.
In relation to the ongoing war, an independent study conducted by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) argued that the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza has underreported the death toll between October 7, 2023, through June 30, 2024, by 41%.
“The LSHTM study estimated 64,260 traumatic injury deaths in Gaza between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024 compared to the 37,877 reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health,” an article from the LSHTM published earlier this month stated.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has also argued that the recent U.S. strikes on Iran could potentially lead to a breakthrough in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
“I think great progress is being made on Gaza. Because of the attack that we made, I think we’re going to have some very good news. I think that it helped a little bit, it showed a lot of power,” Trump stated at the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
Additionally, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement calling for the ceasefire between Israel and Iran to be extended to the war in Gaza.
“We call on the government to engage in urgent negotiations that will bring home all of the hostages and end the war. Those who can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza,” the forum wrote in a statement.
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