Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Al Jazeera releases footage from botched IDF operation in Gaza in 2018

Qatar-based TV network shows the fake Palestinian IDs reportedly used by the Israeli commando unit that attempted to infiltrate Khan Yunis last November, along with details of the soldiers’ true identities.

In the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Nablus, Hamas supporters attend a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the terror group’s founding, Dec. 15, 2017. Credit: Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
In the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Nablus, Hamas supporters attend a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the terror group’s founding, Dec. 15, 2017. Credit: Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.

Previously unreleased video from a botched Israel Defense Forces operation in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip last year was released by Al Jazeera TV on Sunday.

The operation last November led to the death of a senior Israeli intelligence officer in a firefight with Hamas operatives in Gaza, which broke out when his unit’s cover was blown.

According to the Al Jazeera report, 17 soldiers, including two women, entered the coastal enclave in two vehicles under the guise of an extended family.

The report showed fake Palestinian identification papers used by the IDF commando unit, as well as details of the Israelis’ true identities and even their seating arrangements in the vehicles, which were seized by Hamas, Ynet reported.

A recording of the Israeli team after the exchange of fire shows them speaking Hebrew as a soldier is apparently given medical treatment.

The report also showed what it said was one of the IDF soldiers that participated in the raid posing as a volunteer for a German aid organization.

The Israeli soldier who died during the operation, Lt. Col. M, was a 41-year-old Druze father of two. Another soldier was moderately wounded during the operation.

The team was evacuated back to Israel via helicopter.

“Whether it’s hosting Miss Israel or meeting with elected officials from Israel, I’m always looking to strengthen” the “deep bond between New York City and Israel,” Eric Dinowitz, a member of the City Council told JNS.
Most are open to several years of IDF rule in the Strip; Netanyahu leads rivals on suitability to serve as prime minister.
Charlotte Knobloch, who leads the city’s Jewish community, canceled her attendance at a book launch following the incident.
Widawski, a younger brother and an uncle were the only members of the family to survive the Nazi extermination of Jews.