Hamas releases video of ambush that killed 7 Israeli soldiers in Gaza

GAZA: Hamas’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, on Thursday released video footage of a deadly ambush on Israeli armored personnel carriers (APCs) in Khan Younis, Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of seven Israeli soldiers and left dozens more wounded.

According to Middle East Eye, the incident involved a coordinated and complex ambush, followed by a secondary attack targeting Israeli soldiers.

In the footage, a fighter from the Al-Qassam Brigades is seen running toward an Israeli APC under heavy fire, climbing aboard, and dropping an explosive device into the vehicle’s command cabin. The militant films himself with a cellphone in one hand while executing the attack.

Al-Qassam claimed that a follow-up ambush targeted Israeli military personnel responding to the initial blast, reportedly inflicting further casualties.

The video has been widely shared on social media, where it is being described as one of the close-range operations carried out since the conflict escalated.

It marked one of the deadliest single incidents for Israeli forces in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive in March this year.

Israel’s army’s website listed the names of five soldiers and a platoon commander from the same battalion who “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip”.

It added that a seventh soldier was also killed, but his family had not given permission for him to be named.

More than 430 Israeli soldiers have died in the war, since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.