Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven others wounded when an Israeli Air Force helicopter crashed late Tuesday night during a rescue mission in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip. The helicopter was conducting an operation to evacuate a seriously wounded combat engineer when it crashed while attempting to land inside an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) encampment. The incident occurred around midnight, and no enemy fire was involved, according to military reports.
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The helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk from the 123rd Squadron, was carrying a Unit 669 medical team. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Four of the wounded soldiers sustained serious injuries, while three others were moderately injured. The combat engineer, who was injured in a separate incident, was among the critically wounded.
The IDF has launched a probe to determine the exact cause of the crash, stating that the helicopter was not brought down by hostile fire. All injured personnel were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center by 2 a.m., and the families of the deceased soldiers have been notified. The IDF emphasized that this crash marks a rare incident, noting that the military has successfully carried out hundreds of rescue missions in Gaza, saving around 1,700 soldiers without prior incidents.