Jerusalem, May 29 (IANS): The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday announced that three soldiers of its Nahal Brigade were killed during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that the three were killed when a booby trap exploded in a building in the southern city of Rafah, bringing the total number of deaths of IDF soldiers to 639 since the current conflict broke out last October, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to the report, the three soldiers set out on Tuesday afternoon to search buildings and combat infrastructure in southeast Rafah.

It added that upon entering one of the buildings, a powerful explosive detonated, causing a partial collapse of the structure and, subsequently, the soldiers' deaths.

According to the IDF and Kan TV, three other fighters were seriously injured in the incident. In addition, the IDF reported that seven other soldiers were severely wounded in their fighting across the strip.