Hamas on Thursday released footage of what it says was an attempted abduction of IDF reservist Master Sgt. Avraham Azulay, who was killed a day earlier during operations in Khan Younis.
The video, which does not show the moment of the attempted abduction, highlights serious security lapses in the Israeli operation, drawing parallels to a previous deadly incident in which seven soldiers were killed in an armored personnel carrier.
Hamas terrorists ambush IDF forces in Khan Younis
In the video, Hamas terrorists are seen moving freely and undetected in broad daylight through an IDF convoy that was demolishing buildings in Khan Younis. They appear to carry weapons and functioning cameras, taking advantage of the extensive rubble to approach Israeli forces. Similar to past incidents, soldiers are shown exposed in vehicles with doors open, raising questions about operational readiness.
Azulay is seen exiting a civilian engineering vehicle after coming under initial fire from the terrorists, who were positioned several hundred feet away. The footage suggests he was seriously wounded in the attack, after which the assailants reportedly took his weapons and shot him at close range. The video does not show the attempted abduction itself, and Israeli sources believe Hamas censored footage of Azulay resisting the attackers. The terrorists fled with his handgun.
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A preliminary IDF investigation corroborates the video, showing that Hamas operatives exploited the ruins of demolished structures to stealthily approach Israeli forces, fire RPGs from short range and escape through tunnel openings previously unknown to the military.
The IDF has been targeting those structures for demolition, citing their use by terrorists and their proximity to key military routes such as the Netzarim and Morag corridors, as well as the newly established security buffer zone near the Gaza border.
The footage also underscores a broader operational issue exposed in Israeli media over the past year: the military’s increasing reliance on civilian engineering equipment due to wear and tear on its armored bulldozers since the October 7 Hamas attack.
Lacking adequate numbers of military-grade vehicles, the IDF has deployed contractor-supplied bulldozers to front-line combat zones. These civilian machines are not armored, leaving operators vulnerable even to light weapons fire.
Meanwhile, Israel this week received a long-awaited shipment of dozens of D-9 bulldozers from the United States, after the delivery had been delayed by the previous U.S. administration. However, the vehicles still require protective outfitting, a process that could take days or weeks before they can be deployed to combat zones.