ALBAWABA - On Saturday, Israeli news outlets said that several soldiers were hurt in two big battles in Gaza. The fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters got worse in Khan Younis and the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. The fights, which have been called "face-to-face battles," were some of the worst on the ground in recent weeks.
Israeli news sources say that hurt Israeli troops were taken by helicopter to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Beilinson, Soroka, and Ichilov. Local reports told Al Jazeera that an Israeli rescue chopper had arrived northwest of Khan Younis at the same time that the Israeli military was attacking the area with fire and bombs.
The Israeli army said that many soldiers were hurt in the fights, including a tank captain who was badly hurt. Two more troops were hurt overnight when an anti-tank missile fired by Hamas hit a military car in northern Gaza.
Al-Qassam Says It Has Direct Hits And Puts Out New Video
After their failed attempt to take Israeli soldier Avraham Azulay, who was later killed, Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades shared a picture of him. "Azulay was unlucky; the next soldier will be our prisoner," the group said, implying that they would be capturing more soldiers in the future.
The groups also said that their fighters had come back from battle having used powerful homemade bombs to destroy two Israeli bulldozers in the Al-Zaytoun area on July 2 and a Merkava tank on July 6. They also said they were behind the attack on another tank earlier this week in the "Maslakh" area of Khan Younis.
Al-Qassam released video that showed an Israeli soldier running away during a fight, which they say goes against what the Israeli army says happened on the ground.
The Al-Quds Brigades join the attack.
The Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades said they destroyed a bulldozer in eastern Khan Younis and shelled an Israeli command and control center on Jabal al-Surani, which is east of Gaza City. The group also put out pictures of what they said was a rifle operation that hurt and targeted an Israeli soldier.
There is more and more talk about how strong the Palestinian groups are in Gaza, and Israel is still losing soldiers during long operations on the ground.
