According to local reports, Israeli special forces and allied militias attempted to abduct a senior Hamas operative in western Gaza City on Tuesday morning. The force was exposed, leading to heavy exchanges of fire and Israeli airstrikes, with Gaza sources reporting at least 8 killed. Following the operation, extensive drone flights were observed over most of the Gaza Strip, apparently searching for those who fired on the force.
Security analyst Yair Goldblatt reported extensive drone activity over much of the Gaza Strip in the early afternoon, assessing that the flights are aimed at locating those who opened fire on Israeli forces during the morning's aborted operation.
Earlier Tuesday, multiple reports from Arab-language sources described a raid by a joint Israeli special forces unit and an anti-Hamas militia in western Gaza City. The force, reportedly arriving on motorcycles, attempted to abduct a senior Hamas official. After being detected, heavy clashes erupted and the Israeli Air Force conducted a series of airstrikes to cover the force's extraction. Gazan sources reported at least eight fatalities, with unofficial estimates ranging from 6 to 10.
A security source told Qatar's Al-Arabi channel that the incident was an assassination attempt. As The Zioneer reported earlier today, the operation represented one of the most significant Israeli special operations inside Gaza City in recent months. Al Jazeera later cited a Palestinian security source claiming the attempt failed and the target survived, though the IDF has not confirmed or denied the operation.
4 developments
- DevelopingLebanese reports: extensive drone movement over southern Lebanon
- DevelopingLebanese reports: drone movements over several areas in southern Lebanon
- DevelopingYair Goldblatt reports drone movement over Baghdad, Iraq
- StrongDozens of drones reportedly smuggled into Gaza from Egypt and Israel in recent months
Source and signal
- Open-source intake