The IDF has completed its initial investigation into Wednesday morning’s incident in Khan Younis, in which a Hamas squad raided an army outpost along the Magen Oz corridor — a route the Israel Defense Forces opened through the southern Gaza city last month as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots.
According to the probe, the attackers emerged from a tunnel shaft that had been said to be demolished by the IDF about two months ago. Soldiers, who had been asleep inside one of the outpost’s buildings, woke up directly into a close-quarters clash. Three were wounded: one seriously and two lightly.
While the report highlighted the soldiers’ swift and lethal response, it also pointed to operational gaps and mistakes in carrying out the defensive mission. In the days before the raid, troops had detected at least three suspicious movements near the outpost — a makeshift compound of captured buildings, dirt embankments and an inner yard where tanks and armored vehicles were parked. Despite that, the Hamas force was not detected. The attackers also managed to disable an Israeli surveillance camera by gunfire before the clash.
The probe found that between 15 and 20 Hamas fighters surfaced from the tunnel around 9 a.m. and split into three squads. One took positions on an embankment to fire at reinforcements, another stormed a building where soldiers were sleeping after a night mission, and a third attacked an adjacent structure.
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Hamas operatives killed in Khan Younis
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The clash began when a Haruv reconnaissance officer on an upper floor heard noises, spotted a suspect below and opened fire. At the same time, a Nachshon company commander roused about 15 soldiers from sleep as six Hamas gunmen were already in the building. Fighting erupted at point-blank range, with at least three attackers killed.
A tank commander from the 188th Armored Brigade, who had decided to remain inside his tank, quickly fired three shells at a building used by the attackers and dodged an RPG fired from the embankment squad.
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IiDF tank rolling over an armed Hamas attacker during an ambush on an Israeli outpost in Khan Younis
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The fighting across the three points lasted five to 10 minutes before the attackers retreated, having managed to wound only three soldiers. Israeli forces pursued, killing about 10 more terrorists in the area, including some who fired mortars. Most of the fleeing attackers were eliminated by drones directed by battalion and company commanders.
The incident ended after about three hours when the last Hamas gunman was spotted trying to return to the tunnel and was killed from the air. Soldiers later recovered Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, ammunition, tactical vests and explosives that had been scattered in the compound. “We even found a stretcher they brought. We don’t know if it was meant for an abduction or for evacuating their casualties,” the IDF said.
The investigation also revealed that the tunnel shaft had been identified and “treated locally” two months earlier. Military officials believe Hamas rebuilt the shaft, similar to other tunnels the group has restored in Gaza over the past year. “Nearby reserves were activated quickly, and one tank even ran over an attacker preparing an anti-tank strike,” the army said
The Magen Oz corridor, several kilometers from the Israeli border, is intended to separate Hamas forces from communities in southern Israel. In recent weeks, Kfir Brigade troops stationed there have launched raids, uncovered tunnels and killed terrorists daily.
“The routine at the outpost was managed well, including a dawn alert drill that was carried out,” the IDF said. “Inside the buildings, there were operational norms we would want to improve, but also very good elements, such as the rapid shift from zero to 100. Commanders personally confront the challenges of nearly two years of fighting in Gaza, every day — from positioning defenses more effectively to managing resources.”