Palestinian resistance factions carried out a series of strategic operations in the Gaza Strip, including targeting military vehicles and sniper attacks on Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, Israeli media confirmed the death of one soldier and the injury of others in two separate “security incidents” inside Gaza.
The Al-Quds Brigades — the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement — announced that its fighters detonated an explosive device against an Israeli military vehicle during a ground incursion southeast of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. The group confirmed that Israeli forces sustained casualties as a result.
On Sunday, the Brigades released exclusive footage showing a complex ambush executed by its fighters against Israeli forces east of Khan Younis in the southern part of the Strip. According to the statement, the operation targeted an Israeli troop carrier in the Abasan al-Kabira area to capture Israeli soldiers.
In a related development, the Al-Qassam Brigades — the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) — announced that its fighters, in coordination with the Al-Quds Brigades, targeted three Israeli Merkava tanks using two types of explosives: Shawaz and Thaqib, along with a Tandem warhead. The attacks occurred around Al-Ridwan Mosque in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, on 7 July 2025.
Upon returning from the battlefield, Al-Qassam fighters confirmed they had sniped an Israeli soldier stationed atop a Merkava tank near Al-Nasra School on Baghdad Street in Shuja’iyya, on 11 July 2025. The soldier was confirmed dead at the scene.
Israeli Soldier Killed
Israeli media reported that one Israeli soldier was killed and two others wounded during what was described as a “serious security incident” inside the Gaza Strip. A military helicopter landed at Soroka Hospital carrying injured soldiers from ongoing battles in Gaza.
Later on Monday evening, Israeli outlets reported a second “security incident” in Gaza, with additional wounded soldiers evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. No further details were disclosed.
In an official statement, the Israeli army confirmed the death of a soldier and the serious injury of a Golani Brigade officer during clashes in southern Gaza.
Video Documentation of Resistance Operations
In recent weeks, both the Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades have intensified the publication of video footage documenting confrontations with Israeli forces and the destruction of Israeli military vehicles in both northern and southern Gaza. These videos reveal ongoing ground battles and ambushes that have led to significant Israeli military losses.
The published footage shows explosive attacks and well-executed ambushes resulting in the destruction and disabling of numerous military vehicles, as well as the targeting of soldiers. The resistance factions affirmed that Israeli forces continue to suffer heavy losses in both personnel and equipment.
The factions have consistently set up successful ambushes, inflicting substantial human losses on Israeli forces, in addition to destroying or damaging hundreds of military vehicles. They have also continued launching medium- and long-range rockets at Israeli cities and settlements.
Shortage in Israeli Field Commanders
These intensified resistance operations have had an observable impact on Israeli ground forces. The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Israeli army is currently facing a shortage of approximately 300 officers in platoon commander positions within its ground forces.
The report emphasised that the most severe shortfall is within the engineering corps, particularly in field command and explosive ordnance disposal teams.
This shortage, as highlighted by Maariv, reflects the depth of the ongoing crisis within the Israeli military as it struggles to maintain control over its operations in Gaza.
Since the beginning of the war on 7 October 2023, the Israeli army has officially reported 893 soldiers killed and 6,108 wounded. However, resistance factions assert that the real casualty figures are significantly higher than those acknowledged by the occupation forces.
