On Saturday, the Israeli occupation forces acknowledged the death of five additional soldiers in the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip. Simultaneously, the resistance confirmed its commitment to confront the advance of Israeli forces and resist their incursions into the northern and southern regions, resulting in significant losses in terms of both soldiers and vehicles.

Israeli media described the situation as “very difficult with the presence of many bombs and battles in Gaza,” noting that “in addition to the six dead soldiers today, there are many casualties, and many soldiers were wounded.” 

The occupation forces disclosed that among the casualties was a captain, a group leader in the elite Nahal unit, who died today. Additionally, the announcement included information that the remaining four casualties were from Givati and Battalion 6623, and they lost their lives during yesterday's confrontations in the southern Gaza Strip.

Al-Qassam expected the occupation in complex ambushes

The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement in Gaza, announced on Saturday that its resistance fighters successfully destroyed five Zionist tanks. They achieved this by repurposing two 2-ton missiles that the occupation had fired toward civilian areas in Jabalia but had not exploded, resulting in the killing and injury of all members in the tank. The resistance fighters planted them on the path of advancing occupation vehicles in the Jabalia al-Balad area. As soon as the vehicles arrived at the spot, the rockets were detonated.

The al-Qassam Brigades additionally verified that their resistance forces set up a tight ambush for four jeeps from the occupation command in the Juhr al-Dik area in the central Gaza Strip. They successfully eliminated a Zionist soldier at point-blank range and targeted two occupation vehicles with two "Yassin 105" shells in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, located in the northern sector of Gaza.

Additionally, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza reported that the occupation forces were subjected to a heavy barrage of mortar shells in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza. At the same time, the al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that they had destroyed the enemy’s field command rooms in the southern axis of Gaza City, with heavy-caliber mortar shells.

The resistance fighters are engaging in intense battles at close range with the enemy forces penetrating the Juhr al-Dik area, where the fighting has persisted for more than 50 days. The resistance has previously achieved success in conducting infiltrations and raids against the occupation forces, targeting their vehicles and tanks throughout the prolonged war.

#شاهد | جيب إسرائيلي تم سحبه من جحر الديك شرق #غزة بعد استهدافه من كتائب القسام صباح اليوم.#طوفان_الأقصى #الثورة_الكبرى pic.twitter.com/7zo2ZmxR2a

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 23, 2023

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In the southern Gaza Strip axis, the al-Qassam Brigades successfully annihilated clusters of occupation forces penetrating the areas of the city of Khan Younis using heavy-caliber mortar shells. Moreover, the resistance fighters managed to entice five Zionist soldiers from the "Yahloum" unit into one of the al-Qassam tunnels located east of the city of Khan Younis. As soon as they entered the tunnel, the fighters launched an attack, resulting in the detonation of the tunnel and the elimination of the occupation soldiers.

Al-Qassam further confirmed that two Zionist soldiers were targeted with an RPG shell in the city of Khan Younis, resulting in their immediate death and fragmentation. Additionally, they reported the destruction of a Zionist troop carrier with an Al-Yassin 105 shell north of the city, setting it on fire. 

سرايا القدس تنشر مشاهد للرشقات الصاروخية التي دكت بها السرايا المدن المحتلة والمواقع العسكرية الصهيونية#فلسطين_المحتلة #طوفان_الأقصى #غزة pic.twitter.com/ZkO7Yr4ZFY

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 23, 2023

Killing of Israeli captives

Moreover, the military wing of the Hamas Resistance movement, the al-Qassam Brigades, announced having lost contact with a group of Resistance fighters guarding five Israeli settlers as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip

Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida said the five Israeli captives were presumed dead due to the indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Resistance published the names and photos of three of the settlers who are presumed dead at the hands of their forces.

The Israeli captives include Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, and Amiram Cooper, 84. The photos of the settlers were released in a poster that has the words "time is running out" in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.

كتائب القسام تنشر مشاهد عن التحام مجاهديها بقوات العدو في قرية المغراقة شمالي المحافظة الوسطى#فلسطين_المحتلة #غزة pic.twitter.com/1fM5CH2Jtw

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 22, 2023

For its part, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades indicated that its fighters were engaged in violent and fierce confrontations with the occupation forces on the al-Balad axis in the center of the city of Khan Younis, with heavy bullets and RPG shells.

The Brigades also targeted a tank assembly center east of Khan Younis using heavy 120 mm mortar shells. They confirmed that their fighters successfully detonated two military vehicles in fortified locations of the Zionist enemy, specifically in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City in the north. In this area, intense confrontations erupted, involving the use of shells against armored vehicles and light weapons along the Sheikh Radwan axis.

Likewise, the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades announced that its combat units are engaged in fierce confrontations with the occupation forces penetrating the eastern Jabalia al-Balad axis, north of Gaza.