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The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Movement, released on May 13 and 14 videos showing two recent deadly attacks that targeted Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip.
One of the videos shows an ambush that took place in the Shejaiya neighborhood to the east of Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip on April 25. During the ambush, Hamas fighters targeted at least one Merkava main battle tank, a Humvee armored vehicle and a building occupied by Israeli troops with rocket-propelled grenades.
The Israeli Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Police acknowledged that a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion and an officer from the Border Police’s Yamas covert unit were killed in the ambush.
The other video shared by the al-Qassam Brigades shows Hamas fighters attacking Israeli troops with explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades in three separate buildings in the al-Tanur neighborhood to the east of Rafah City in the southern part of the Strip on May 8.
According to the IDF, a Sergeant in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 605th Battalion and a Staff Sergeant in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit were killed on that day in southern Gaza.
In total, five Israeli soldiers and one police officer have been killed in Gaza since the IDF resumed its offensive there on March 18.
Israeli troops faced little to no resistance in the first weeks of the renewed offensive, capturing nearly 30% of Gaza. However, Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions in the Strip resumed operations recently, inflicting losses on the IDF and hindering its operations.
Despite taking losses, Israel was not deterred. In fact, the IDF recently called up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” a final large-scale offensive meant to occupy all of Gaza and completely defeat Hamas.
According to Hebrew media reports, Israel will launch the large-scale operation if Hamas refuses to release the remaining hostages – at least 59, including 24 who are believed to be alive – as a part of a new ceasefire agreement before the end of United States President Donald Trump’s ongoing visit to the Middle East.
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