JERUSALEM, June 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Nine Israeli soldiers were injured, two of them seriously, when ordnance exploded at a military base in the south, the army announced on Wednesday.

"An explosion of munitions occurred on a military base in southern Israel. The incident is under investigation," an army statement said of the Tuesday blast. It added that the injured soldiers were receiving treatment.

Israeli media reported that the explosion took place at a base in the Negev Desert.

It came as the Israeli army presses its war to destroy Hamas after its unprecedented attack from Gaza on October 7.

The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 1,194 people on the Israeli side, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,550 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.