Israel army says killed 10 Gaza militants in rare large-scale attack on troops
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on a building in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on August 20, 2025. Israel's defence minister approved a plan on August 20, for the conquest of Gaza City and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists, piling pressure on Hamas as mediators push for a ceasefire. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
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Israeli media reported that such an attack on troops inside the Gaza Strip was highly unusual since the start of the war, which began in October 2023, triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel.
"Today, at around 9am (0600 GMT), over 15 terrorists emerged out of several tunnel shafts adjacent to the 90th battalion post in southern Khan Yunis," the Israeli military said in a statement.
The militants "carried out a combined gunfire and anti-tank missile attack towards the post, with several terrorists infiltrating it and getting eliminated in face-to-face combat and aerial support strikes," it added.
The military said that one soldier was severely injured and two others lightly injured in the assault.
"The troops, in coordination with the (Israeli air force), eliminated 10 terrorists during face to face combat and airstrikes," it said, adding that eight other militants fled back into the tunnel.
Doron Kadosh, a journalist with Israeli military radio, said the assault in Khan Yunis was "exceptional" since the start of the war, while the Times of Israel described it as an "unusual incident".
Israel's Channel 12 reported that the attack had been aimed at kidnapping soldiers.
Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that its fighters "this morning... carried out a raid on a newly established enemy position southeast of Khan Yunis".
"Our fighters stormed the site and targeted several guard tanks... our fighters also targeted several houses in which (Israeli) soldiers were fortified," it added.
"A number of our fighters stormed the houses and finished off several (Israeli) soldiers inside from point-blank range with light weapons and hand grenades," it said, claiming to have also killed a tank commander.
"As soon as the rescue forces arrived, one of the Qassam fighters detonated himself among the soldiers, leaving them dead and wounded," the statement added.
It did not mention any casualties amongst its fighters.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military denied "that there was one or more suicide bombers among the Hamas militants, or that Hamas attempted to abduct IDF soldiers".
Hamas made frequent use of suicide bombers during the second intifada uprising against Israel in the early 2000s, but there have been no reported suicide attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza during the ongoing war.
Hamas claimed an attempted suicide operation in Tel Aviv in August 2024, which resulted in the death of the militant.
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