Al-Qassam Brigades says it destroyed Israeli military vehicles in Rafah

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas’ military wing on Wednesday said that they destroyed several Israeli military vehicles in an operation in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades said that it targeted a Merkava tank and a D9 military bulldozer with two Yasin 105 rockets in the Al-Shokat area, east of Rafah.

Its fighters also targeted Israeli rescue personnel, who arrived at the scene, leading to the destruction of an armored personnel carrier and two more D9 bulldozers, the statement said.

In a separate statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades said that they carried out two shooting operations in the West Bank on Wednesday.

The first targeted an Israeli settler near the Kiryat Arba settlement, while the second targeted the Israeli military near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron.

This came in the wake of the assassination of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in an airstrike in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

While Tel Aviv has not yet commented, both Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out the assassination and have vowed retaliation.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 39,445 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly ten months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio