Israel Defense Forces soldiers operating in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis area identified and destroyed an extensive Hamas terrorist tunnel network while killing dozens of enemy gunmen, the IDF said on Friday.
Combat teams from the IDF’s 89th “Oz” Brigade, aka the Commando Brigade, operating under the command of the 98th Paratroopers Division, aka the Fire Formation, located and demolished a nearly mile-long terrorist tunnel as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” the army said.
The underground infrastructure, which was discovered with the help of the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Yahalom Combat Engineering special forces unit, was situated in a residential neighborhood.
During a search of the structure before its demolition, the troops identified several terrorists barricaded inside and killed them.
Meanwhile, a combat team of the Kfir Infantry Brigade, under the command of the 36th Armored Division, aka the Ga’ash (“Rage”) Formation, joined the fighting in the Khan Yunis area.
The Kfir soldiers have so far killed dozens of terrorists, and located and destroyed terrorist infrastructure and weapons, including booby-trapped buildings, according to the Israeli military statement on Friday.
During the fighting in southern Gaza on Thursday, a soldier from the 188th “Barak” Armored Brigade was seriously wounded, the IDF said, adding that he was evacuated to a hospital and his family was notified.
At the same time, three soldiers of the Golani Infantry Brigade sustained light wounds in a double rocket-propelled grenade attack in the Strip. The Golani soldiers returned fire toward the source of the RPG attack.
Shortly after the assault, IDF soldiers in the field ordered an Israeli Air Force aircraft strike and eliminated the terrorist cell in question.
Over the past 24 hours, the IAF attacked dozens of terrorist targets across Gaza, the IDF said. Among the targets were terrorist operatives, observation and sniper posts that posed a threat to IDF troops in the area, underground infrastructure and “additional terror infrastructure.”
Soldiers “continue to act against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the IDF said.