Five IDF soldiers were wounded Wednesday afternoon, one of them seriously, in an attack by Palestinian terror operatives on troops stationed in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the military said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had violated the truce and vowed a response, saying: “Our policy is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on IDF soldiers and will respond accordingly.”
The IDF later said it had carried out an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis targeting a Hamas operative in response. The military did not elaborate on the identity of the target.
Palestinian media reported at least six killed in the strike.
According to the IDF, troops of the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit had encountered several terror operatives who emerged from a tunnel in eastern Rafah — an Israeli-held area in the Strip’s south, where dozens of Hamas fighters are believed to be trapped underground. A gunfight then erupted.
The army said a soldier with Golani’s reconnaissance unit was seriously injured in the clash, while three other soldiers — including two from Golani and a non-commissioned officer in the Gaza Division — were moderately injured. A fifth soldier was lightly hurt.
In response, the IDF carried out airstrikes and artillery shelling in the area.
According to a preliminary military investigation, the incident began as the Golani soldiers spotted a suspicious figure covered in a blanket entering a building. A Namer armored personnel carrier (APC) with troops was dispatched to the area to aid in the search for the suspected terror operative.
The soldiers in the APC then spotted two operatives who emerged from a tunnel, and the troops opened fire on them. As the troops fired, one of the operatives launched an RPG missile at the APC, wounding the five soldiers.
The soldiers managed to hit both operatives, killing one and wounding the second. The wounded operative, who had fired the RPG, managed to flee back into the tunnel.
The IDF was searching the area for the operative who fled, along with the suspect spotted earlier.
Channel 12 reported that the prime minister held an urgent meeting to debate how to respond to the attack.
According to the report, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet director David Zini participated in the meeting. Zamir argued that Israel could not let the attack go by without a response, according to the outlet.
“This is a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement,” a senior Israeli official told the network. “We are in full coordination with the Americans on the topic, and we have emphasized the severity of the matter.”
In recent weeks, the IDF has reported killing over 30 terror operatives and capturing a further eight, after they tried to flee from the tunnels in Rafah. According to a prominent Hamas member in Gaza, the group estimates some 60 to 80 fighters are still holed up in the tunnels beneath the southern Gaza city.
On November 30, the commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two other terror operatives were killed after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.
The matter of the trapped Hamas fighters has gone without resolution for nearly two months since the ceasefire went into effect in early October, as mediating countries have tried to negotiate terms for their safe passage back to Hamas-controlled areas.
According to a Channel 12 report in late November, Israel conveyed a proposal to Hamas the week before that would allow the operatives to leave the tunnel, as long as they surrender and agree to be transferred to Israeli prisons. Since the proposal was made, the operatives have not surrendered and have on multiple occasions emerged from tunnels in attempts to flee or attack IDF forces.
Israel has resisted giving the fighters unconditional free passage and has insisted that Hamas disarm, a key piece of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
Those who have survived after months of holding out in the tunnels are thought by the IDF to be running out of supplies and starving.
Earlier Wednesday, IDF troops stationed in northern Gaza located several rocket launchers, the military said. The launchers were found by reservists of the Carmeli Brigade, who were deployed to the Israeli side of the Yellow Line for defensive and mop-up operations.
The IDF said the launchers contained rockets that were intended to be launched at Israel.
Also on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported that two Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, citing a source in Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. According to the report, the two were killed on the Hamas-controlled side of the ceasefire line, which passes through the neighborhood.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
