Israeli media reported on Friday that several Israeli soldiers were killed and wounded in an ambush carried out by Palestinian resistance fighters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The soldiers were struck while inside a building that collapsed on them during the operation.
Israeli sources added that several soldiers remain trapped beneath the rubble and confirmed that the security incident is ongoing.
The Al-Qassam Brigades—the armed wing of Hamas—had announced on Thursday that it conducted two operations in Khan Younis and a complex ambush east of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, inflicting casualties among Israeli forces.
In a statement, Al-Qassam detailed that the Jabalia ambush, executed last Sunday in the eastern buffer zone near the Al-Mabhouh site, involved the use of explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades, and close-range gunfire.
Earlier this week, the Israeli military confirmed the killing of three senior sergeants in northern Gaza during combat operations. The soldiers were reportedly targeted inside a military Humvee in Jabalia. Additionally, two Israeli firefighters were wounded during the same attack.
Separately, the Al-Quds Brigades—the armed wing of Islamic Jihad—confirmed it had detonated a military vehicle in southern Khan Younis.
Massacre of Civilians
At the same time, hospitals across Gaza reported that 52 Palestinians, including children and journalists, were martyred since dawn on Thursday due to relentless Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling targeting multiple areas in the besieged Strip.
Despite the sound of Takbir for Eid al-Adha filling the air, Israeli bombardment continued unabated—especially in central and northern Khan Younis.
Medical sources confirmed the martyrdom of a child who was shot by Israeli forces northwest of Khan Younis. Al Jazeera reported low-flying warplanes and heavy gunfire over northern Gaza.
The Israeli military also demolished residential homes in Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, and shelled areas north of Al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
Palestinian sources reported that fires broke out in several homes after artillery strikes hit the Jabal Al-Sourani and Al-Rais areas in eastern Gaza City.
In one of the most heinous attacks of the day, an Israeli drone targeted a group of displaced Palestinians near Al-Shifa Tower in western Gaza, killing five civilians and injuring dozens—most of them children and women, according to a source at Al-Shifa Hospital.
Footage aired by Al Jazeera showed heartbreaking scenes of medics pulling out martyrs and injured victims from among crowds of displaced people who had sought refuge on Al-Shifa Street—hoping to escape Israeli shelling elsewhere.
Among the casualties was photojournalist Ahmad Qalaja, who succumbed to wounds sustained when Israeli forces bombed the journalists’ tent near Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza. This brings the number of journalists martyred in that drone strike to four.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, the total number of Palestinian journalists killed since October 7, 2023, has now risen to 225.
Since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out what many describe as an ongoing genocide in Gaza, openly defying international calls and rulings from the International Court of Justice, which demanded an end to the massacre.
Backed by U.S. military and political support, the genocidal campaign has so far led to over 180,000 Palestinians killed or injured, most of them children and women. More than 11,000 remain missing, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Widespread famine has claimed the lives of many—especially children.
