An IDF officer was lightly wounded Wednesday when an explosive device was detonated against an armored vehicle during operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the military said.
The officer, from the Golani Brigade, was traveling in a Namer armored personnel carrier east of the so-called "yellow line" in an area under Israeli military control when the device was set off. He was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, and his family was notified, the IDF said.
The incident occurred while the officer was operating under the 77th Battalion in Rafah’s Janina neighborhood. According to the IDF, the explosive was detonated “during an operational activity to clear the Rafah area of terrorist infrastructure.” The military is examining whether the device was newly planted in recent days or left behind earlier in the war.
Hours after the explosion, Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said in a post on the X social media platform that it was a result of bombs left behind by Israel, something he said that the ceasefire mediators were informed about.
Following the incident, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement in English — but not in Hebrew — warning that “Israel will respond accordingly.”
The statement accused Hamas of continuing to violate the ceasefire and U.S. President Donald Trump’s “20 point plan,” citing Hamas’ refusal to disarm. “Their ongoing and continuing public refusal to disarm is an ongoing flagrant violation and again today their violent intentions and violations were confirmed by their detonation of an IED that wounded an IDF officer,” the statement said.
It added that Hamas must be compelled to uphold the agreement it signed, including removal from power, disarmament and de-radicalization, and reiterated that Israel would respond.
Israeli officials say Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have violated the ceasefire in Gaza on an almost daily basis. Terrorists who cross the yellow line are regularly targeted by Israeli forces.
The last time Israeli troops were wounded in Gaza before Wednesday was on Dec. 13, when two reserve soldiers were lightly injured by an explosive device on the day Israeli forces killed Raad Saad, the deputy leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the military said.
The Rafah area remains under Israeli control as operations continue to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the southern Gaza Strip.
First published: 15:19, 12.24.25