Al-Qassam Brigades claims it killed 15 Israeli soldiers in western Gaza City

By Mohammad Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Hamas’ armed wing on Friday announced the killing of 15 Israeli soldiers, the destruction of two armored vehicles, and the targeting of four tanks in the Gaza Strip.

In separate statements, the Al-Qassam Brigades claimed its members “managed to eliminate 15 Zionist soldiers at point-blank in Al-Jawazat area in the western Gaza City.”

“We destroyed an Israeli armored vehicle with a Yassin missile in the Al-Jawazat area in the city of Gaza, and another in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip,” stated the armed wing.

The statement continued: “We targeted four Israeli tanks of the Merkava type in Khan Younis city and northern Gaza with Yassin 105 shells and improvised explosive devices.”

The group added: “We shelled occupying forces infiltrating the university area in western Gaza with mortar shells.”

There has been no immediate response from the Israeli military regarding the Al-Qassam Brigades' statements.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas and Palestinian factions in Gaza launched a military operation called “Al-Aqsa Flood” in response to “the continuous attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property, and holy sites, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.”

Israel has killed more than 27,000 people in the Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas, which took the lives of 1,200 people. The military onslaught has caused mass displacement and destruction and created conditions for famine in Gaza.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are nearly 136 Israeli hostages in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both sides. However, there is no confirmation of the final number from either party.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala