Illustrative image.
A group of Hamas fighters attempted to raid an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) post near the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 20 morning, with one of the fighters blowing himself up and others attempting to kidnap Israeli troops.
According to an IDF probe, the attack began at around 9 a.m. local time, with at least 14 fighters emerging from a tunnel south of Khan Younis and opening fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades while approaching the post. The probe acknowledged that some of the fighters managed to breach the post, which was manned by troops from the IDF’s Kfir Brigade. It assessed that the fighters sought to kidnap troops.
Ten of the fighters were killed by the troops and in airstrikes directed by the forces, the IDF said, adding that eight managed to flee back into the tunnel.
The military announced that just three of its soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, as a result of the bold attack in Khan Younis.
The IDF released footage showing some of the airstrikes that targeted Hamas fighters. Two other videos that surfaced online showed the bodies of two fighters near the targeted post, and a tank running over another fighter who was apparently armed with a rocket-propelled grenade.
In a statement claiming responsibility, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that its fighters “stormed the post” and carried out a suicide bombing.
It claimed that its fighters targeted a number of Merkava 4 main battle tanks with explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades.
“Qassam fighters also targeted a number of houses where occupation soldiers were holed up, to pin them down, with six anti-fortification and anti-personnel shells and machine gun fire,” the al-Qassam Brigade said in a statement.
“A number of fighters stormed the houses and killed a number of occupation soldiers inside at point-blank range with light weapons and hand grenades,” it continued.
“Qassam fighters also managed to snipe the commander of a Merkava 4 tank, fatally wounding him. Our fighters pounded the positions surrounding the operation site with a number of mortar shells to cut off reinforcements. The operation site was also pounded with a number of mortar shells to secure the withdrawal of the fighters from the site. Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, one of the martyrs blew himself up among the soldiers, killing and wounding them,” the group added.
The group said the attack “lasted for several hours,” while the IDF probe claimed that the clashes came to an end in under an hour.
The attack came as the IDF is preparing to launch a major offensive targeting Gaza City in the center of the Strip. Some 60,000 Israeli reservists were set to receive call-up orders starting from August 20 morning. Not all of them will, however, join the offensive.
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