Israeli casualties in al-Zaytoun as Resistance continues operations

The Palestinian Resistance continues to conduct operations as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in response to the Israeli occupation’s genocidal aggression on the Gaza Strip, maintaining operations against Israeli occupation forces across various battlefronts and causing significant casualties among them.

On the 322nd day of the ongoing genocide, media correspondents reported that Israeli helicopters landed to transport the injured occupation soldiers from the al-Zaytoun neighborhood and the Maghara area, north of the Nuseirat Camp in the central Gaza Strip. This transport operation coincided with the Israeli occupation’s launch of smoke bombs, artillery shells, and gunfire from Israeli vehicles to hide the transport operation and prevent the filming of the status of the Israeli casualties.

The al-Qassam Brigades announced fierce clashes with the advancing enemy forces south of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, resulting in casualties among the occupation forces and the observation of an Israeli Yasur helicopter landing for transporting the casualties.

In turn, Israeli media acknowledged a “difficult security incident in Gaza,” reporting that an Israeli occupation forces’ unit had been ambushed and that helicopters were evacuating numerous soldiers and officers to hospitals. A military censorship was imposed to prevent news leaks, with further details expected to be released by the IOF spokesperson at a later.

Israeli media also reported that a helicopter arriving from Gaza landed at the Ichilov Medical Center in occupied Palestine. This coincided with criticism from Israeli media accusing the military of disseminating false reports about its operations and successes in Gaza.

The Palestinian Resistance continues its operations on various fronts. The al-Qassam Brigades confirmed targeting four Israeli Merkava tanks with al-Yassin 105 and tandem shells near the Abu Daqa junction in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, west of Rafah. They also targeted a Merkava 4 tank near the Abu Sultan junction in the same area.

Israeli soldier killed, al-Qassam launches drone at command center

Earlier on Thursday, the Palestinian Resistance fighters attacked the positions occupied by Israeli occupation forces in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In an exceptional operation, Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters launched a locally-produced one-way attack drone, al-Zouari, at the Israeli field command and control center in the Netzarim Axis, which splits the northern Gaza Strip from the rest of the besieged territory. 

The attack was launched at 7:30 pm (local time), the Brigades’ Military Media Unit explained. 

Al-Qassam fighters returning from the frontlines in the southern city of Khan Younis reported on two operations near the Hamad residential area.

The first announced operation saw al-Qassam fighters fire two tandem rocket-propelled grenades at two Israeli Merkava tanks. The second operation saw al-Qassam sapper units booby-trap and subsequently detonate a tunnel entrance in the same area, targeting an Israeli force that had arrived at the point of the ambush.

In the context of these operations and others conducted on Wednesday, the Israeli military command said that a soldier in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion was killed in the southern Gaza Strip after his armored vehicle was targeted with an anti-tank shell. 

The death of the soldier brings the total death toll of soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip since the ground invasion was launched to 336 and the total number of Israeli troops killed since October 7, 2023, to 695.