Al-Qassam ambushes 2 IOF units in Gaza, inflict heavy casualties
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Hamas' al-Qassam fighters carry out deadly ambushes on Israeli forces in Rafah, killing and wounding multiple soldiers amid fierce combat and Israeli media blackout.
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Israeli soldiers stand in a group hug as they mourn a Master Sgt. (res.), who was killed in a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral service in the Gezer regional council, April 27, 2025 (AP)
The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced on Thursday that its Resistance fighters had targeted an Israeli engineering unit consisting of 12 soldiers as they were preparing to carry out a demolition operation inside a house near the Fida’i Junction in the al-Tannour neighborhood, east of Rafah city in southern Gaza.
The Brigades stated that its fighters struck the unit with two anti-personnel and anti-armor shells, leading to the explosion of the house and causing casualties among the Israeli force, with soldiers either killed or wounded.
It added that following the attack, Israeli helicopters were observed landing to evacuate the dead and wounded.
The group also reported that its fighters engaged in fierce, point-blank-range combat with Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in the al-Jeneina neighborhood, also in eastern Rafah.
Evacuations in Rafah and media blackout
In a second operation, as part of the Gates of Hell ambushes, al-Qassam fighters successfully targeted an infantry Israeli unit of seven soldiers with a powerful explosive device near the Omar Ibn Abdulaziz Mosque in the a-Tannour neighborhood.
The group confirmed that its fighters saw body parts of several Israeli soldiers scattered at the site.
Following the operations, Israeli military censorship swiftly imposed a blackout on a security event in Gaza involving the collapse of a building and numerous casualties.
Israeli media had earlier reported a "serious security incident" in Rafah in which a building collapsed on Israeli soldiers, causing multiple injuries, some of them described as critical. The wounded were transferred to Barzilai Medical Center in Askalan.
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The media indicated that the Israeli military was facing difficulties evacuating the dead and wounded from the Rafah site due to the intensity of the fighting, as helicopters conducted fire cover operations to secure the evacuation.
The Hadshot B'zman outlet published footage showing wounded Israeli soldiers arriving at hospitals following what it described as a “very serious security incident,” the details of which remain under censorship.
The report added, “Hamas has cameras and explosive devices awaiting the army’s forces in Gaza.”
'Hannibal Directive' reportedly activated by Israeli forces
Israeli media described the day as “difficult for Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip,” particularly as the Rafah incident coincided with another event in Gaza City’s al-Shujaiya neighborhood.
Reports indicated an attempt by the Palestinian Resistance to abduct a wounded Israeli soldier through a tunnel opening inside the collapsed building in al-Shujaiya, amid a tight media blackout.
Israeli media also reported the activation of the so-called “Hannibal Directive” in both al-Shujaiya and Rafah, an Israeli military protocol aimed at preventing the capture of soldiers, even if it means striking their own positions.
In this context, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported that the Israeli military began firing on its own forces amid fears that troops caught in the ambush east of Rafah could be taken captive by the Resistance.
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