An Israeli soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in an ambush executed by al-Qassam Brigades fighters in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. 

According to a statement released by the Israeli occupation's military command, a soldier serving in the 16th Infantry Brigade's 6310th Battalion was killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. 

The 14th Brigade has been tasked with the expansion of the Netzarim Corridor, which Israeli forces currently occupy, northwards into neighborhoods in Gaza City. However, these attempts have proven costly for occupation forces, who have been subject to several deadly ambushes executed by Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades. 

In this incident, the Israeli military command said that a force had reached a building they intended to search in al-Zaytoun where an IED had been planted on the outer wall, directed at the road below. 

According to an initial probe, a force had entered the building while another grouping had taken position outside. The IED was detonated killing one soldier and severely injuring four others while three others were moderately injured. 

Israeli military rescue helicopters rushed to the scene to evacuate the casualties on Friday. 

The announcement means that 337 Israeli troops have been killed since the Israeli occupation launched its invasion of the Gaza Strip while 696 have been killed since October 7, 2023. 

Al-Qassam Brigades details the complex operation 

Al-Qassam Brigades released a statement that matches the events detailed by the Israeli military command at an earlier time. 

Providing more details, al-Qassam's Military Media Unit said that its fighters targeted a number of Israeli military vehicles in the vicinity of the Star Factory in southeast al-Zaytoun, utilizing tandem rocket-propelled grenades to do so. 

The firing of the RPGs lured an infantry force toward a building that had been laidened with anti-personnel IEDs. 

As soon as the force positioned itself outside the building, the IEDs were detonated, killing and injuring several members of the Israeli force. Al-Qassam Brigades also said that Israeli rescue helicopters were seen evacuating the casualties from the scene of the operation. 

Read more: 'Israel' lost deterrence, became 'beaten, humiliated': Ex-general

Rocket fire from Gaza Strip: Unrelenting

Friday also saw the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) al-Quds Brigades fighters heavily shell the Gaza Envelope, where multiple cities and settlements have been established. 

The Brigades said that its fighters fired salvos of rockets toward occupied Isdud, Aasklan, and several settlements in the area. 

Sirens sounded in Sderot, Ibim, and Nir Am on Friday. 

Al-Quds Brigades fighters also shelled the Israeli Zikim military site with large-caliber mortar shells on Friday. 

On Thursday, another Israeli soldier had been killed in the southern Gaza Strip as a result of an anti-tank shell being fired at an armored vehicle. 

Read more: Hamas refuses IOF control over Philadelphi, Netzarim corridors, Rafah