Hebrew media reported that an Israeli occupation force fell into a well-planned resistance ambush in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, resulting in at least one soldier killed and five others wounded, some of them critically.
According to Israeli sources, the ambush involved a resistance drone that dropped an explosive directly on a gathering of Israeli soldiers—causing the fatality and multiple injuries.
Fierce clashes quickly erupted in the area, with Palestinian fighters engaging Israeli troops in direct combat, as warplanes, helicopters, and heavy machine gunfire were unleashed across the Shujaiya district in an attempt to rescue the wounded and suppress the resistance.
Multiple Israeli helicopters were spotted airlifting the injured from Gaza to hospitals in occupied Jerusalem and Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, according to Hebrew outlets.
Activists on the ground in Gaza confirmed that the occupation forces launched dense smoke bombs across Shujaiya to cover the evacuation of their wounded, while simultaneously firing artillery shells into the area in an attempt to contain the battlefield.
This ambush in Shujaiya comes just one day after a major resistance operation east of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, where al-Qassam Brigades ambushed another Israeli force—killing three soldiers from the elite Givati Infantry Brigade.
The Israeli army later admitted, in a Tuesday morning statement, the deaths of three soldiers and injuries to two others in the Jabalia ambush. The fallen were identified as:
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- Lior Steinberg, 20
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- Ofek Barhana, 20
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Omer Van Gelder, 22All were members of the Givati Brigade, one of Israel’s front-line infantry units.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the losses, saying:
“We extend our condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers. Our hearts are heavy in this difficult moment.”
Meanwhile, far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir called it “a painful Tuesday morning,” following the deadly losses.
In a related report, Yedioth Ahronoth cited Israeli military sources expressing growing discontent and concern within the army’s ranks, particularly among reserve officers who criticized the sudden redeployment to Gaza.
According to one officer, the Israeli army is now suffering from a shortfall of over 10,000 soldiers, either killed, wounded, or debilitated by trauma and panic attacks since the start of the war.
On Monday evening, al-Qassam Brigades announced via their official Telegram channel that their fighters were engaged in intense, close-quarter combat with Israeli forces east of Jabalia, stating:
“Our fighters are battling the occupation at point-blank range, inflicting dead and wounded among enemy ranks.”
Hebrew media later described the incident as a “complex and severe ambush.”
