| 2014 Zikim attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of 2014 Gaza war | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
 5 frogmen | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5 killed (according to IDF) | None | ||||||
On the evening of 8 July 2014, five Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades militants swam from the Gaza Strip to Zikim beach in southern Israel.
Five Hamas frogmen of the al-Qassam Brigades attempted to infiltrate Zikim via the northern beaches of Gaza. According to the IDF, all the infiltrators were killed. [1]
The attackers were members of the Nukhba forces, Hamas's special forces unit. [2]
According to journalist Avi Issacharoff, the Zikim attack was another example, albeit unsuccessful, of Hamas attempting to conduct higher "quality" attacks during Operation Protective Edge. The other example he cited was Hamas's new ability to fire rockets at the Israeli city of Hadera north of Tel Aviv. Hamas television stations and Arabic satellite stations celebrated the Zikim raid and rocket attacks. [1]
According to the Israel Defense Forces, all five members of the attack squad were killed. [1] [3]
On December that year, the Israel Defense Forces initiated an urgent investigation following the leak of a film from an internal inquiry, which was subsequently circulated in Palestinian media networks. [4] The footage revealed a significantly longer duration of the battle than what was previously presented to the public by the IDF.
The video contained omitted scenes, including those showing militants approaching a IDF Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozer and placing an explosive on it, and hurling a grenade at a tank. The tank's armor resisted the blast and the crew remained unharmed. [5] These sections were reportedly withheld by the IDF for security reasons. [4] The IDF Spokesman’s Office addressed the leak as a "severe incident" that would be investigated internally, rather than through media channels. [4]
Additionally, the footage showcased the audio communications between the Israeli Navy’s Erez Regional Control Center and military units during their operation to kill the Hamas commandos. The response involved tanks, cannon fire from a Dvora patrol boat of Squadron 916 and ultimately support from the Israeli Air Force. [4] According to IDF assessments, the commando unit was dispatched by "a senior terrorist operative", Ahmed Andur, active in northern Gaza. [4] Taysir Mubasher, the former commander of Hamas's naval forces, was also claimed by the IDF to have been involved in the attack. [6]
Hamas launched a similar attack against Zikim in 2023, during the October 7 attack on Israel.
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004.
The Popular Resistance Committees is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Israel.
In 2004, the Israeli Defense Forces launched Operation "Days of Penitence", otherwise known as Operation "Days of Repentance" in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation lasted between 29 September and 16 October 2004. About 130 Palestinians, and 1 Israeli were killed.
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2005.
The Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, is the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his presumed death on 13 July 2024, EQB is the largest and best-equipped militia operating within Gaza in recent years.
Zikim is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 918.
Bahad 4, commonly known as Batar Zikim is a training base (Bahad) belonging to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict, known in Israel as Operation Summer Rains, was a series of battles between Palestinian militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during summer 2006, prompted by the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006. Large-scale conventional warfare occurred in the Gaza Strip, starting on 28 June 2006, which was the first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005.
This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2007.
In 2008, Israel sought to halt the rocket and mortar fire from Gaza that killed four Israeli civilians that year and caused widespread trauma and disruption of life in Israeli towns and villages close to the Gaza border. In addition, Israel insisted that any deal include an end to Hamas's military buildup in Gaza, and movement toward the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit. Hamas wanted an end to the frequent Israeli military strikes and incursions into Gaza, and an easing of the economic blockade that Israel has imposed since Hamas took over the area in 2007.
The Gaza War, also known as the First Gaza War, Operation Cast Lead, or the Gaza Massacre, and referred to as the Battle of al-Furqan by Hamas, was a three-week armed conflict between Gaza Strip Palestinian paramilitary groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that began on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009 with a unilateral ceasefire. The conflict resulted in 1,166–1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths. Over 46,000 homes were destroyed in Gaza, making more than 100,000 people homeless.
Events in the year 2010 in the Palestinian territories.
On August 18, 2011, a series of cross-border attacks with parallel attacks and mutual cover was carried out in southern Israel on Highway 12 near the Egyptian border by a squad of presumably twelve militants in four groups. The attacks occurred after Israel's interior security service Shin Bet had warned of an attack by militants in the region and Israeli troops had been stationed in the area. The militants first opened fire at an Egged No. 392 bus as it was traveling on Highway 12 in the Negev near Eilat. Several minutes later, a bomb was detonated next to an Israeli army patrol along Israel's border with Egypt. In a third attack, an anti-tank missile hit a private vehicle, killing four civilians. Eight Israelis – six civilians, one Yamam special unit police sniper and one Golani Brigade soldier—were killed in the multiple-stage attack. The Israel Defense Forces reported eight attackers killed, and Egyptian security forces reported killing another two.
The 2006 Gaza cross-border raid, known by Palestinian militants as Operation Dispersive Illusion was an armed incursion carried out by seven or eight Gazan Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 who attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions near the Kerem Shalom Crossing through an attack tunnel. In the attack, two IDF soldiers and two Palestinian militants were killed, four IDF soldiers were wounded, one of whom was Gilad Shalit, who was captured and taken to the Gaza Strip.
As part of the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, a military engagement took place near Zikim, Israel between Hamas militants and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). According to Haaretz, Hamas's goal was to capture Zikim's military training base. The Israeli navy prevented most Hamas militants from landing on the beach, although an estimated 11 militants landed from a vessel that went through. Fighting took place outside Zikim, at three military bases, and on the adjacent coastline. The garrison of the training base held out, but the other two bases were overrun, and a civilian security team prevented an incursion into the kibbutz. An estimated 19 civilian beachgoers were killed.
The Nukhba forces, Nukhba Force or just (Al-)Nukhba are a special forces unit of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. The word "Nukhba" is used by Israelis to refer to Hamas militants. In 2024 the usage of the word in Israel roughly corresponds to "Hamas militant" or "Hamas commando".
On 7 October 2023, as part of the Qassam Brigades-initiated 7 October attacks on Israel, a series of coordinated armed incursions into the Gaza Envelope, around 30 militants from Hamas' Qassam Brigades attacked Kibbutz Sufa and then overran a nearby military outpost.
Previously unseen footage shows Hamas terrorist running up to Israeli tank and throwing an explosive under it, tank armor withstands explosion and crew is unharmed. IDF: Leak is a serious incident that will be investigated and dealt with accordingly.
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