By Mohammed Majed
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian group Hamas claimed Sunday to have killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the enclave.
The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said 15 soldiers were killed at point-blank range, without providing any further details.
According to the group’s spokesman Abu Obeida, several Israeli soldiers were killed and injured in the detonation of a tunnel opening in Gaza.
He said Hamas fighters had also destroyed 43 Israeli military vehicles and seized four drones in recent days.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the claim.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 27,365 Palestinians and injuring 66,630 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced 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.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala