ALBAWABA - Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said on Saturday that its fighters had attacked Israeli forces successfully in downtown Khan Younis, killing at least one person. The operation comes at a time when fighting has gotten worse and diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire deal are picking up speed again.
Al-Qassam said in a Telegram message that the fighters attacked Israeli troops and armored trucks on Friday morning near the Directorate of Education in Khan Younis. The group said they destroyed an armored personnel carrier (APC) by planting a "Shuwadh" explosive device in the command cabin of the vehicle. They said the blast fully destroyed the vehicle and its crew.
The group also said that its fighters fired a "Yasin 105" anti-tank rocket at the APC and then used light and medium weapons to attack the rescue workers as they arrived. Similar bombs were also aimed at two Merkava tanks, and Al-Qassam said that some of their crew members were killed.
Al-Qassam said that Israeli planes took a long time to evacuate people after the attack. The Israeli military has not yet made a formal comment about what happened.
The action happens at a time when resistance activity in the Gaza Strip is growing and peace talks are expected to happen soon. Before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned trip to Washington, D.C. on Monday, Hamas recently sent an answer to mediators that was described as "positive."
They said on Friday that two soldiers were killed in different incidents in Khan Younis and Beit Hanoun. In the past few days, attacks on Israeli troops and military infrastructure have been recorded by both Al-Qassam and Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades.
According to the Israeli military, 883 soldiers have died since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. Of these, 439 were killed during operations on the ground that began on October 27. There are now 6,032 people who have been hurt, including 2,745 people who were hurt during the ground attack in Gaza.
Observers and rights groups keep pointing out that Israel has tight control over information about the war. They say that the military stops the media from reporting on Israel's loses, limits access to photos and videos, and only lets official information be shared through heavily watched channels.
