Al-Qassam takes responsibility for northern Gaza lethal IED ambush
4 Min Read
At least seven Israeli troops, including a top commander, have been killed in Palestinian Resistance IED ambushes in northern Gaza, the latest of which was executed on Saturday.
-
Al-Qassam forces detonate an IED, targeting invading Israeli forces in Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip, Palestine. (Al-Qassam Military Media)
Following a series of lethal improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ambushes in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalia, al-Qassam Brigades has taken responsibility for executing another of these ambushes.
IEDs planted in buildings and other areas in the northern Gaza Strip continue to cut into the Israeli military's renewed aggression on Jabalia, with the most recent case killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring another.
In a related development, an Israeli soldier was killed early Saturday morning in the northern Gaza Strip due to a grenade explosion, the Israeli military reported. Simultaneously, the Military Police have reportedly initiated an investigation into the incident, which appears to be unrelated to ongoing combat. While the Israeli army has not released the soldier's identity, local authorities have identified him as Shneur Zalman Cohen from the occupied West Bank settlement of Yitzhar.
In a related context, the Israeli military command announced, on Saturday, that two soldiers, serving under the 162nd Armored Division's 84th Givati Infantry Brigade, were killed in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 reported that an IED planted in a building eliminated the two soldiers.
No Palestinian faction has taken responsibility for Saturday's operation to this point.
Al-Qassam eliminates Israeli 'Ghosts'
Reports indicate that the two soldiers were killed in a building, which is in close proximity to another building where four elite troops were killed on October 29.
On Saturday, Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, took responsibility for the operation which led to the demise of the four Israeli troops. According to statements made by the Israeli military command, one officer and three soldiers, from Unit 888, an elite multidomain force known as "Ghosts", were killed.
Later, authorities revealed that the force was tasked with clearing a building in Jabalia, which was intended to be used as a command post in the area. However, Al-Qassam Brigades fighters had booby-trapped the structure, killing the four and injuring three others who reached the top floor of the building.
401st Brigade commander falls into Jabalia trap
Yet, the most significant of these incidents is the elimination of the commander of the 162nd Division's 401st Armored Brigade, Colonel Ehsan Daqsa, on October 20.
Daqsa was among the highest-ranking officers leading the third Israeli ground aggression on Jabalia. The Israeli commander arrived at a site, believed to be a cleared observation point, alongside several other officers.
The Israeli officers were also targeted by al-Qassam fighters, who had set up a claymore in the area, killing Daqsa and wounding several others, including his subordinate, who commands the 52nd Armored Battalion.
Operations announced on Saturday
Palestinian Resistance fighters are also engaging invading Israeli forces in direct confrontations. Al-Qassam Brigades said that its fighters, who had returned from the frontlines in the Jabalia refugee camp, reported targeting two Israeli military D9 bulldozer in one operation.
In another operation, Al-Qassam fighters targeted a D9 bulldozers and detonated an anti-personnel IED into an infantry force, in what they said was a multi-stage ambush.
As for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) al-Quds Brigades, fighters launched a rocket attack that targeted the city settlement of Sderot and the Mefalsim settlement on Saturday.
Read more: Hamas' tactics in North Gaza make it hard to defeat: NYT
