The armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, the Al Qassam Brigades, has announced that they killed 12 Israeli soldiers in the volatile northern region of besieged Gaza.
“In a complex operation in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Al-Qassam fighters targeted an Israeli D9 military bulldozer with a Yassin 105 shell and attacked an Israeli force inside a house with two anti-personnel shells, engaging them in combat,” stated the group on Wednesday.
“When a rescue force advanced to the location, an explosive device was detonated on a Merkava tank. As the targeted force attempted to retrieve equipment from the ground, the Israeli Air Force bombed the area intensively. Our fighters confirmed the killing of at least 12 Israeli soldiers in the operation,” the statement added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army announced a large-scale military operation in the heart of the Jabalia camp, alongside another ongoing operation east of Rafah in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army reported “fierce battles” in Jabalia, indicating that its forces “confronted dozens of armed cells,” referring to Palestinian factions.
Context of the Conflict
Israel’s invasion of Gaza began following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israeli military targets and settlements. Since then, Israel has killed over 35,230 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 79,140. More than 10,000 Palestinians are believed to be buried under rubble from bombed buildings.
Around 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing severe hunger, with a full-scale famine underway in the north, according to the UN.
In the occupied West Bank, nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured since October 7, alongside daily arrests by the Israeli army.
Approximately 80 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.4 million has fled their homes since the invasion began, many being forcibly displaced multiple times.
The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of genocide and ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.
