5 Israeli Soldiers Wounded, One Seriously, After Rafah Attack
5 Israeli soldiers were wounded, one seriously, on Wednesday after gunmen emerged from a tunnel in the Rafah area and opened fire on Israeli troops. The IDF said the ambush constituted a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” prompting a retaliatory strike hours later in southern Gaza.
According to the military, the incident occurred when two gunmen surfaced from underground and attacked a unit operating in the southern sector. The soldiers, including members of the Sayeret Golani reconnaissance unit and troops from the Gaza Division, were caught in close-range fire. One soldier was seriously wounded, and four others sustained moderate injuries. The attackers also fired an RPG at a nearby armored vehicle before one of the assailants was shot dead, and the second fled back into the tunnel system.
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The IDF said units in the area quickly returned fire and began searching for the attacker who escaped. The military emphasized that the presence of armed operatives in tunnels near active IDF positions violates the terms of the ceasefire established under the October 10 framework.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the assault as a ceasefire violation and convened senior defense officials for consultations. “The Hamas terror organization continues to violate the ceasefire agreement and carries out terror attacks against our forces,” Netanyahu stated. He added that “our policy is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on IDF soldiers and will respond accordingly.”
Later in the day, the IDF confirmed that it carried out a targeted airstrike in response. The military said the strike in the Khan Younis area targeted “a terrorist in the Hamas terror organization,” without specifying the operative’s identity. Palestinian media claimed six people were killed in the attack. Israeli Army Radio reported that the strike targeted a senior Hamas figure associated with the Rafah battalion.
IDF forces remain deployed throughout the southern sector to enforce the ceasefire terms and to prevent further attacks. The military said operations will continue until all immediate threats in the area are removed.
