The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating in a statement that the operation was carried out on Monday evening and describing it as "an additional blow to the prestige of the feeble Israeli army."
According to a statement issued by the Israeli occupation army on Tuesday morning, the dead soldiers belonged to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion within the Kfir Brigade and were killed during military operations in northern Gaza. Israeli authorities kept the details of the ambush secret for hours, while Hebrew media described the incident as "one of the most difficult incidents" the forces had witnessed in recent times.
That same evening, Israeli Army Radio published the results of a military investigation into the attack, which stated that the 99th Division had launched a military operation in Beit Hanoun four days before the ambush, "with the aim of eliminating the remaining militants in the city, estimated to number in the dozens, most of whom were holed up inside a network of tunnels, emerging from which they occasionally emerged."
According to the investigation, the ambush area had been subjected to intense aerial and artillery bombardment in the preceding days. The operation occurred just one hour after a foot company from the Netzah Yehuda Brigade entered the site, accompanied by an armored company to provide cover.
The attack began with the detonation of an explosive device targeting the advancing force. As soldiers attempted to aid their wounded comrades, a second device exploded. The militants then opened heavy fire from the rubble of the houses, using automatic machine guns, while closely monitoring military movements. A third device was later detonated.
The investigation revealed that most of the casualties resulted from the initial two explosions, and that the explosive devices were carefully concealed, likely planted approximately 24 hours before the attack, and detonated remotely. It also revealed that the devices were detonated gradually, with the aim of inflicting the greatest number of casualties among the army.
The investigation also noted that the confrontation lasted approximately an hour and a half, with the primary focus being on preventing any kidnappings among the forces.
In a striking comment, Doron Kadosh, a military analyst on Israeli Army Radio, considered what happened in Beit Hanoun to be an intelligence and military failure, noting that the attack occurred just one kilometer from the border fence with Gaza, and three kilometers from the city of Sderot, areas under military control for more than a year and a half, specifically since the start of the ground invasion on October 27, 2023.
With the killing of the five soldiers, the death toll of the Israeli occupation army since it resumed its genocide in Gaza last March has risen to 39 officers and soldiers, according to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The death toll of the occupation army since it began its war of extermination on October 7, 2023, has risen to 888 soldiers, including 444 killed since the start of the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip on the 27th of the same month.
While the number of wounded officers and soldiers since the beginning of the war has risen to 6,073, including 2,780 since the start of the ground invasion, according to data from the Israeli occupation army published on its website.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with US support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left more than 194,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.
