FIVE elite Israeli soldiers were killed and at least two others wounded in Khan Younis on Friday after a building collapsed during a resistance ambush.
The 12-member Israeli unit was reportedly lured into a booby-trapped structure, with several soldiers believed to still be buried beneath the rubble.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the operation, alongside a separate ambush east of Jabaliya refugee camp involving explosive devices, shells, and close-range machine gunfire.
Meanwhile, the Al-Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad said it had targeted an Israeli military vehicle in southern Khan Younis.
In a separate attack in Jabaliya on Monday, the Israeli military confirmed that three soldiers were killed when their Hummer vehicle was struck.
Two firefighters were also injured in that incident.
The Israeli military response has involved widespread bombardment across the Gaza Strip.
Since Thursday morning leading up to Friday, at least 52 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, including children and journalists. Eid al-Adha prayers echoed through Gaza as warplanes and artillery rained down on densely populated areas.
Hospitals in Khan Younis confirmed the killing of a child from Israeli fire northwest of the city.
Israeli forces also detonated residential buildings in Al-Qarara and shelled areas north of Nuseirat refugee camp.
Fires broke out in homes near Jabal al-Surani and al-Rayyes in Gaza City, following further artillery attacks.
A drone strike near Al-Shifa Tower in western Gaza City killed five displaced civilians, mostly children and women, according to hospital sources.
Footage from the scene showed families sheltering in the area as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble.
Photojournalist Ahmed Qaljah died from injuries sustained in an earlier Israeli drone attack on a press tent in the courtyard of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, raising the death toll from that strike to four journalists.
Gaza’s Government Media Office reports that at least 225 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023.
Over 180,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded, the vast majority women and children. More than 14,000 remain missing, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
