Zana ambush

Last updated

Ambush of the Righteous
كمين الأبرار
Part of Israel–Hamas War
Iron Swords-Egoz unit-001.jpg
Israeli soldier patrol led by Ido Baruch, who was killed during the ambush
DateApril 6, 2024
Location
Result Hamas victory
Belligerents
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg  Hamas
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg Ido Baruch   Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg Rafah Salama
Units involved

Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg Israeli Defence Forces

Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg Al-Qassam Brigades
Casualties and losses

According to IDF: [1]
Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg 4 soldiers killed
Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg 2 soldiers injured
Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg 2 Merkava tanks damaged

Contents

According to Al-Qassam Brigades: [2]
Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg 9 soldiers killed
Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg 3 Merkava tanks disabled
Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg Unknown; a small number killed by tank fire (per IDF) [1]

The Zana ambush, referred to as the Ambush of the Righteous by Hamas, was an ambush carried out on 6 April 2024 by the Qassam Brigades against Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel and vehicles in the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, four Israeli soldiers were killed as well as a number of Qassam Brigades fighters from a second cell after the initial group of militants retreated. [1]

Background

In February, the IDF claimed that it had dismantled Hamas's battalions in Khan Yunis, and to give credence to that claim, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the city. [3] However, Palestinian militants continued to attack Israeli forces throughout February and March.

Ambush

The Qassam brigades asserted that the very location of the ambush, Al Zana, was one of the areas Israel claimed to have subdued and pacified.[ citation needed ]

On April 9, 2024, the Qassam Brigades published an 8-minute video showing how the operation was prepared and the ambush itself. [4]

The Qassam Brigades had planted IEDs and booby traps, before recording the unsuspecting soldiers as they advanced to the area of the planned ambush.

As the Israeli patrol passed by an area of Al Zana containing primarily destroyed buildings, Palestinian militants opened fire from their positions. Ido Baruch, the captain who was commanding the patrol, was killed. The remaining Israeli soldiers attempted to flee, with one sustaining injuries and attempting to return fire before being struck by militants' gunfire and killed. A third soldier, who had sought shelter behind a tank, was targeted by a sniper and killed.

The remaining Israeli patrol soldiers called for reinforcements, and the militants retreated to their positions. A Merkava arrived to rescue the remaining soldiers. As it passed by one of the buildings, a Palestinian militant fired an Al-Yassin 105 shell at the tank from the second floor, causing damage but failing to disable and causing no injuries. [1] Two more tanks arrived, and were also targeted. As more Israeli reinforcements arrived, the militants became outnumbered and retreated. The IDF chose not to pursue due to the risk posed by potential IEDs. The IDF stated that a number of militants from a second cell were killed by tank fire shortly thereafter. [1] The bodies of the killed soldiers were taken away, and disabled vehicles towed. [5]

Related Research Articles

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2003.

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004.

The 2004 Israeli operation in the northern Gaza Strip took place when the Israel 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasin (RPG)</span> Palestinian anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade

The Yasin, also known as Yassin, or Al-Yassin, is an anti-tank weapon derived from the RPG-7 produced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and first deployed in 2004. It was named after Hamas' spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on March 22, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qassam Brigades</span> Military wing of the Palestinian Hamas organization

Al-Qassam Brigades, also known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, is the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist organization Hamas. Led by Mohammed Deif until his presumed death on 13 July 2024, the Al-Qassam Brigades is the largest and best-equipped militia operating within the Gaza Strip in recent years.

This page is a partial listing of incidents of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2008</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Gaza cross-border raid</span> Palestinian attack on Israeli border post

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Beit Hanoun</span> 2023 military engagement in the Gaza Strip

The battle of Beit Hanoun began on 27 October 2023 in the midst of the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. On 18 December 2023, Israeli forces had prematurely signalled that they had full control over Beit Hanoun and had destroyed Hamas’ Beit Hanoun Battalion. However, clashes continued in the town. Israeli forces withdrew from the town on the 24th of December. Subsequently, some Palestinian militants infiltrated back into the town and conducted attacks against Israeli forces to the east.

The siege of Gaza City began on 2 November 2023, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounded Gaza City, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which was a counterattack to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Gaza City is the most populated city in the Gaza Strip and the battle started on 30 October 2023, when Israel and Hamas clashed in Gaza City. According to Oxfam, there are about 500,000 Palestinians, along with 200 Israelis and other captives, were trapped in a "siege within a siege" in northern Gaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Khan Yunis</span> 2023 military engagement in the Gaza Strip

The battle of Khan Yunis, which evolved into the siege of Khan Yunis in late January 2024, began on 1 December 2023 in the midst of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in the North Gaza Strip</span> 2024 armed conflict in Palestine

The insurgency in the North Gaza Strip is an armed conflict centered in the North Gaza Governorate, around the besieged Gaza City after Israel announced it had dismantled 12 Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades battalions on 7 January.

The Battle of Shuja'iyya was a military engagement of the ongoing Israel-Hamas War between the Israeli Defense Forces of Israel and Hamas. The latter's allies, namely the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also took part in the fighting. During the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Shuja'iyya was the last district in Gaza City that had not been subject to an Israeli ground invasion, and as a result many Palestinians who had not been able to evacuate south had sought refuge in the district. Despite this, the Israel Defense Forces had shelled and bombarded targets in Shuja'iyya for weeks before invading on December 4. On the 26th of December, Israel withdrew from Shuja'iyya, announcing that the local Hamas battalion had been defeated. Despite this, militants continued to attack Israeli forces within the town.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Four soldiers killed fighting in southern Gaza as war on Hamas hits six-month mark". Times of Israel . 7 April 2024.
  2. "Hamas claims to kill 9 Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza fighting". Samaa TV. 9 April 2024.
  3. "Hamas Smashed in Khan Younis". 12 August 2024.
  4. "كمين الأبرار.. مقايضة الأرض بالأهداف السِّمان". 12 August 2024.
  5. "خبير عسكري: كمين الأبرار عملية نوعية بامتياز". 12 August 2024.