Egypt Daily News – The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, announced that its fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli soldiers and military vehicles east of the Palestinian city of Rafah.
In a statement released Thursday evening on its official Telegram channel, the group said: “Al-Qassam fighters are engaged in intense close-range clashes with enemy soldiers and vehicles in the incursion area of Al-Juneina neighborhood, east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.”
On Wednesday, Al-Qassam announced a series of special operations against Israeli forces as part of its “Gates of Hell” campaign. These operations reportedly resulted in deaths and injuries among Israeli troops and the destruction of military vehicles in various areas in the south and central Gaza Strip.
The Brigades said it had successfully lured an Israeli foot patrol of ten soldiers and two military dogs into a well-prepared ambush near the Project Junction east of Rafah. As the unit entered the ambush site, fighters detonated several explosive devices, killing and injuring members of the targeted force.
According to the statement, Al-Qassam fighters observed Israeli helicopters landing in the area to evacuate the wounded. Clashes reportedly continued in the vicinity at the time of the statement.
In a second operation, the group said it targeted an Israeli force taking shelter inside a house near the same Project Junction area. The fighters used two TBG anti-fortification grenades. The attack reportedly killed and injured several Israeli soldiers. Al-Qassam fighters then advanced toward the house and engaged in close combat with the remaining soldiers using light weapons, ultimately killing them all.
Al-Qassam also announced it had detonated a pre-planted minefield targeting an Israeli armored unit moving along Al-Awda Street east of Al-Farahin, east of Khan Younis. The explosion reportedly resulted in several casualties.
Following the operation, the group shelled the area with mortars and observed the withdrawal of a destroyed Israeli military vehicle, along with helicopter evacuations of the dead and wounded.
