The Israel Defense Forces sustained casualties after militants linked to the Palestinian Hamas movement detonated a tunnel along the route used by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. The details appeared on Hamas channels and were echoed by state news agencies in reports from the region.
According to the broadcast, fighters from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, participated in the operation. They described the strike as a tunnel collapse triggered by explosive charges when an enemy unit approached the neutralized passage.
Hamas claimed that gunfire and mortar rounds followed the explosion, aimed at the forces seen as occupying the territory. While the group asserted casualties among Israeli soldiers, it did not publish any specific figures for those losses.
The statement also referenced a separate trap set against Israeli personnel in the Jabalya area in the northern Gaza Strip. It claimed the use of two large, unexploded Israeli rockets, each weighing about two tons, to target tanks and inflict damage on advancing forces.
On December 22, an American television network reported that Israel had proposed a one-week humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages. Journalists cited the Israeli government’s aim to extradite 35 prisoners during this pause period.
Earlier coverage in Israel questioned how many Hamas members were detained during the broader military operation in the Gaza Strip and noted ongoing discussions about the scope and outcome of the campaign.