The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced the successful execution of a high-impact military operation targeting Israeli forces stationed east of al-Qarara, in Khan Younis, amid intensifying ground clashes in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to a statement released by the group, the operation was carried out in the early hours of May 20. Fighters reportedly detonated a house rigged with explosives in which Israeli soldiers had taken shelter. The explosion caused the structure to collapse, resulting in what the group described as significant Israeli casualties, including both deaths and injuries.

The al-Qassam Brigades further reported that their fighters targeted a nearby tunnel shaft, which drew additional Israeli reinforcements. After detonating the shaft, the resistance fighters engaged the advancing Israeli troops in close-range combat, reportedly inflicting further losses.

The group said Israeli helicopters were later observed arriving at the scene to evacuate the dead and wounded, underscoring the scale of the attack. The Israeli army has not released an official casualty count for the incident.

On the same day, other Palestinian resistance groups carried out additional attacks against Israeli military forces. The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), reported the detonation of a pre-planted GBU-39/B bomb — an American-made munition reportedly abandoned by Israeli forces — which destroyed an Israeli military vehicle on al-Muntar Street in Gaza City's al-Shuja’iyya neighborhood.

In a separate development, the Israeli army acknowledged that one of its soldiers was killed on May 20 due to friendly fire. The incident occurred during an inspection of a tunnel opening near Khan Younis, adding to the operational challenges faced by Israeli ground forces.

These operations are part of a wider campaign of field resistance launched in response to Israel’s ongoing military escalation in Gaza. Since the launch of Israel’s full-scale ground invasion, Palestinian armed groups have intensified their attacks, with the violence contributing to the worsening humanitarian and military crisis in the region. (ILKHA)