The Israeli army admits failure to rescue its soldiers in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military spokesman acknowledged on Wednesday that attempts to rescue soldiers killed by an explosive device while they were inside an armored personnel carrier in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, had failed. This was one of the most devastating blows the army has suffered since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

In a brief statement, the spokesman said, "We failed to rescue the soldiers despite all our efforts. The forces made great efforts under complex and difficult circumstances." He added, "Words cannot describe the depth of the pain felt by the families of the soldiers killed in this horrific incident."

This statement comes hours after the army announced the deaths of seven of its soldiers, most of them from the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, when their armored vehicle was targeted by an explosive device or an anti-tank shell.