Hamas' military wing says it killed 5 Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) — The armed wing of Palestinian resistance group Hamas announced Saturday that its forces had killed five Israeli soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip after a series of clashes in Al-Amal neighborhood.

Several Israeli troops were also injured in the clashes that took place in the area, located in Khan Younis city, the Al-Qassam Brigades group said on Telegram, adding that its fighters had targeted the Israeli soldiers at "point-blank range."

Al-Qassam fighters also destroyed an Israeli armored vehicle with a tandem shell, it added.

A separate statement by the Al-Qassam Brigades said its fighters targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with a Yasin-105 shell.

They also targeted an Israeli infantry patrol with an anti-personnel mine, resulting in casualties and prompting the Israeli army to evacuate them via helicopter.

In a third statement, Al-Qassam said its fighters destroyed another Israeli Merkava tank with a "martyrdom" explosive device.

As of 1610GMT, there was no response from the Israeli army on Al-Qassam's statements.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by the Palestinian group, Hamas, killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 33,100 Palestinians have since been killed and over 75,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala