The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, announced on Sunday that its fighters carried out a complex ambush targeting Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, on Saturday.

The operation, dubbed “Breaking the Sword,” inflicted multiple casualties on the Israeli army, according to statements released by the group.

In a post on its Telegram channel, Al-Qassam said its fighters fired an anti-tank missile at a vehicle belonging to the Israeli army’s combat information gathering unit in the Gaza Division. As a support unit arrived to evacuate the initial force, it was hit by an anti-personnel explosive device, causing additional casualties.

The Israeli military confirmed on Saturday that one soldier was killed and five others were seriously injured during the encounter.

Further details reported by Israeli Army Radio stated that the ambush began with an RPG attack on a military vehicle, injuring three soldiers. When reinforcement units arrived, a concealed explosive was detonated, killing one soldier and severely injuring two more.

Al-Qassam also claimed responsibility for a separate ambush in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City, where fighters reportedly struck a tank and a military bulldozer in the Jabal al-Surani area, setting both vehicles ablaze. The group stated that this ambush also resulted in casualties among Israeli forces.

Israeli media confirmed that wounded soldiers from the Al-Tuffah operation were airlifted by military helicopters for emergency treatment.

Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, released footage on Saturday of what it said was the capture of two Israeli surveillance drones. The group claimed the drones were conducting intelligence operations over Gaza City before being seized.

Israeli occupation forces have recently intensified their incursions into Gaza’s eastern neighborhoods, including Shejaiya and Al-Tuffah, as part of their ongoing military campaign, now in its seventh month.

These latest developments underscore the continuing intensity and complexity of resistance operations in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli assaults that have devastated much of the enclave and displaced the majority of its population. (ILKHA)