Tel Aviv, May 29 (IANS/DPA): Three Israeli soldiers were killed when a booby trap exploded in a building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, local media reported.

The Israeli army confirmed that three soldiers from the Nahal infantry brigade had been killed in fighting in the southern Gaza Strip the previous day.

During the operation, Israeli soldiers went from house to house in search of weapons, the military said, without elaborating specifically on where or how they died. Local media said it was in a booby-trapped building in Rafah.

According to the army, the incident on Tuesday means that 639 Israeli service members have been killed and more than 3,600 others injured since the Hamas massacres of October 7 and Israel's subsequent air and ground campaign in Gaza.

The Hamas-run health authority says more than 36,100 people have been killed so far in Gaza by Israel. The authority does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.