IDF forces identified a group of approximately 13 armed Hamas terrorists on Thursday, carrying Kalashnikov rifles and RPG launchers, lying in ambush near a route used often by troops operating in the area. According to one assessment, the terrorists may have been planning to kidnap soldiers.
The terrorists were seen by a drone and observers on the ground, near a tunnel shaft. However, noise from the drone probably alerted the group, which fled into the underground passage.
The Hamas terrorists lay in ambush in Gaza
The fact that the operatives were spotted near a known tunnel shaft, which they later fled into, reinforced suspicions that they were preparing an abduction. The military said it was familiar with the route of the tunnel, and its objective was to strike it and neutralize the threat.
The IDF Spokesperson said later on Thursday, forces continued to operate in Khan Younis, solidifying operational control. troops have been active in recent weeks along a corridor that cuts through the city, dividing its eastern and western parts.
During recent operations, troops discovered a weapons cache containing cluster grenades, explosives, mortar shells, and sniper rifles.
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In another operation, IDF forces—working with Unit 504—arrested terrorists deep in Khan Younis based on precise intelligence about terrorist activity and infrastructure in the area. Engineering troops also helped uncover and destroy a tunnel stretching hundreds of meters underground.
Earlier Thursday, the IDF announced that the 98th Division had concluded its operations in the Gaza Strip. Over the past few months, the elite division has operated in Gaza City’s Shuja'iyya and Zeitoun neighborhoods in the north, as well as in Khan Younis in the south. The military has not yet announced whether another division will replace the 98th in the field.
The IDF said the decision to end operations in northern Gaza was made “in accordance with the operational plan and the combat timeline.”
According to the military, forces destroyed over 1,500 terrorist infrastructures and killed dozens of operatives during the northern campaign.
“The troops dealt a significant blow to Hamas’s Shuja’iyya Battalion, which took part in the October 7 massacre in southern Israel,” the IDF said.