Four IDF soldiers were killed on Sunday and ten were wounded by a rocket barrage launched by Hamas terrorists in Rafah at an IDF post near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Kan News reported on Monday that the soldiers who were killed and wounded were stationed at the crossing to guard heavy IDF tools and equipment placed there as part of the preparations for a ground operation in Rafah.

The IDF stated that due to an intelligence warning and as part of a situational assessment, it was decided to only leave a security team of soldiers at the site in order to protect the tools and equipment. The rest of the soldiers in the battalion stayed at a distance from the site – a result of lessons learned from past incidents in which terrorists fired at assembly areas.

The IDF investigation will focus on two questions: could fewer soldiers have been left at the site and if the rocket warning sirens for the soldiers were sufficient.

The military correspondent for Maariv, Avi Ashkenazi, spoke about the incident on Radio 103FM on Monday morning.

“Hamas fired at a number of areas,” he said. “The IDF decreased the number of forces in those areas and left a security force at each site. There were mobile bomb shelters there – you can see them in the photos – but the response time [to reach the shelters] is very short – up to ten seconds.”

“The incident was probably a combination of bad luck and perhaps a slight lack of vigilance,” he added.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)