The Palestinian resistance announced that on Friday, it killed Israeli soldiers in the south and north of the Gaza Strip, while Israeli bombing left dozens of martyrs dead.
The Al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters targeted a foot force of 5 Israeli soldiers with an anti-fortified shell, and clashed with them northwest of the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, confirming that the soldiers were killed or wounded.
It also announced that its fighters targeted another Israeli foot force with an anti-personnel device, and clashed with what remained of it, killing and wounding them east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.
Also in Khan Yunis, the Al-Qassam Brigades destroyed an occupation troop carrier, according to what was stated in one of its statements via the Telegram application.
Pictures broadcast by the Al-Qassam Brigades of what they said were confrontations with the occupation forces in the town of Al-Mughraqa, located between Gaza City and Wadi Gaza.#Gaza_War #News pic.twitter.com/ih0jLKjK6t
– Tel Aviv Tribune Channel (@AJArabic) December 22, 2023
In the same axis, fighters of the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) targeted an Israeli bulldozer with an “Al-Yassin 105” shell, according to what was stated in another statement.
This comes amid fierce battles in Khan Yunis, the neighborhoods of Gaza City, and the northern regions.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades said that they were able, in a joint operation with the Al-Qassam Brigades, to kill and wound 4 Israeli soldiers east of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
It also announced that it had targeted a Merkava tank in the Al-Qasaib neighborhood in the Jabalia camp, and shot down an Israeli drone that was flying in the airspace of the central Gaza Strip.
The Al-Quds Brigades had broadcast pictures that it said were of rocket and mortar shells targeting Israeli military sites and concentrations in the areas of advance in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced today that an officer and a soldier were killed and 23 soldiers were wounded in the battles in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
This brings the number of Israeli army deaths to 145 since the start of the ground incursion into Gaza late last October.
Reinforcement and withdrawal
Also in field developments, the Israeli army announced that it had strengthened its forces in Khan Yunis with five new brigades.
This announcement comes hours after Israeli media revealed that the occupation army withdrew a battalion in the Golani Brigade from Gaza, after 60 days of fighting in which it suffered heavy losses.
Israeli Channel 13 reported that soldiers from the battalion in the Golani Brigade, which is classified as one of the Israeli elite forces, left Gaza to reorganize their ranks.
42 Golani soldiers and officers, including the commander of the 13th Battalion, were killed in the battles in the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza.
Preparation for a buffer zone
While the Israeli army was talking about expanding the scope of its operations to include areas in central Gaza, including Deir al-Balah, the Tel Aviv Tribune team monitored southeast of Gaza City, near the Karni-Mintar crossing, the occupation forces bombing a number of Palestinian buildings near the security fence for the second time in days.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent reported that the Israeli army deliberately destroyed hundreds of residential buildings and public facilities near the security fence in recent weeks, especially east of Gaza City and Jabalia to the north, as part of a plan to create a buffer zone that would give the Israeli towns on the Gaza Strip a security depth.
The Israeli media revealed a military plan to establish military barracks near all Israeli towns close to the security fence.
Dozens of martyrs
Meanwhile, coinciding with the intensification of battles, the occupation forces intensified their raids and artillery shelling on several areas in the Gaza Strip.
The bombing included Gaza neighborhoods, most notably Sheikh Radwan, all the way to Nuseirat and Bureij in the center, as well as Rafah and Khan Yunis in the south. The number of martyrs in Khan Yunis alone rose to more than 30 during the past hours.
Since the morning hours, the occupation army has carried out several raids on the center of the city of Khan Yunis, where it is trying to expand its incursion. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that the occupation carried out a violent bombardment in front of its Al-Amal Hospital in the city.
The Jabalia area, north of the Gaza Strip, was also subjected to intense bombardment, resulting in a number of martyrs.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent reported that 18 martyrs, most of them children and women, were killed by Israeli bombing on Friday evening on a house in the Nuseirat camp.
Since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, the number of martyrs has exceeded 20,000 and 53,000 injured, most of whom are women and children.