The Palestinian Resistance killed eight Zionist occupation soldiers who were reportedly asleep in an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in the southern Gaza Strip, Zionist media outlets reported on Saturday.
The news has emerged as occupation forces are launching an invasion into the western neighborhood of al-Sultan in Rafah.
Relating a slightly different course of events but with the same end result, the al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement in which it announced that on the morning of the day of Arafat Day, its freedom fighters carried out a complex ambush against Zionist vehicles penetrating the area of the Saudi neighborhood in Tal al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah.
The cab of a D9 military bulldozer, according to the Resistance group, was targeted by an al-Yassin 105 shell, causing it to catch fire and resulting in casualties among its crew.
Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, a Namer APC was targeted with an al-Yassin 105 shell, which led to its destruction and the killing of all its crew members.
However, according to Zionist media reports, the eight troops were burnt to death in the attack, which targeted a Namer-type APC in Rafah. Prior to al-Qassam’s statement, it was reported that an unspecified anti-tank shell was fired at the APC, which led to an explosion and a fire in the vehicle, killing eight soldiers sleeping inside it.
The corpses of the soldiers were completely burnt, and the APC was destroyed, it was claimed. Among those killed was a combat officer in the occupation forces.
It is worth noting that the Namer APC is one of the most advanced and heavily armored vehicles when compared to same-class vehicles internationally.
It is based on the chassis of the Merkava 4 main battle tank, replacing far-inferior American M113 vehicles that were involved in several Zionist catastrophes due to their weak armor.
Nonetheless, the Palestinian Resistance marks yet another military achievement as it defends the Gaza Strip from the Zionist onslaught.
The military spokesperson for the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas Resistance movement, Abu Obeida, said, “Our complex operation today in Rafah was a new affirmation of the enemy’s failure against our Resistance and a painful blow to its army.”
In a written statement on Telegram, Abu Obeida declared that there was more to come from the Resistance.
He further emphasized the continuity of “the heavy hits the enemy has to suffer anywhere he is,” adding that there is “nothing but death traps on any patch of our land.”
Zionist media reported a severe incident in central Gaza, where the occupation acknowledged the deaths of two additional soldiers from the 179th Brigade due to an improvised explosive device (IED), which also injured two more soldiers.
The occupation also confirmed the death of a soldier from the Givati Brigade. He succumbed to critical injuries sustained during fights in Rafah a few days prior.
Zionist losses mount during war on Gaza
An expert in military and political affairs, Ahmad Abdul-Rahman, said that the operation casts a shadow over “the occupation’s operations in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip.”
Abdul-Rahman explained that the Zionist military will now extensively contemplate any advances into the strategic al-Sultan neighborhood.
The occupation’s military command is yet to admit to the deaths of the eight soldiers, however, it has admitted to 650 killed officers and soldiers killed across all fronts since October 7, 2023.
On the other hand, the Palestinian Resistance continues to resist occupation forces across the Gaza Strip, as factions announced successful operations on Saturday.
Amid the advance into western Rafah intense confrontations were ongoing since Friday night in the area.
Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades has so far announced two operations, including a rocket attack on the Kissufim military site.
The Brigades also fired a locally-produced al-Yassin tandem rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at a military-grade D9 bulldozer in al-Sultan.
Iraqi Resistance continues attacks
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced that it had launched a developed cruise missile at the Haifa port in occupied Palestine at dawn on Saturday.
The cruise missile, the Arqab, was launched from Iraqi soil toward the occupied Palestinian territories targeting a target in Haifa, which had been attacked several times by the Resistance in light of the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Iraqi Resistance announced that the operation was carried out in continuation of its alignment with the Palestinian cause, in support of the Palestinian people and Resistance, and in response to the massacres being carried out in Gaza.