IDF says 5 IDF soldiers killed in Beit Hanoun ambush were targeted in pre-planned attack

Despite the area being cleared, Hamas managed to plant IEDs within the 24 hours before the operation, bypassing detection by armored bulldozers.

Five Israeli soldiers were killed and 14 wounded Monday in a deadly ambush in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, were targeted in a pre-planned attack, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Hamas fighters detonated a series of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and opened fire from elevated positions. The incident occurred just 1.5 kilometers from the border.

The soldiers were part of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, sent on foot through a narrow corridor in an area inaccessible to vehicles. According to the IDF, airstrikes and artillery fire had previously targeted the area to clear threats. Despite this, Hamas managed to plant IEDs within the 24 hours before the operation, bypassing detection by armored bulldozers.

Three devices were detonated in rapid succession. The second blast, triggered as soldiers attempted to aid those wounded in the first, caused most of the fatalities. Simultaneously, Hamas fighters opened fire with automatic weapons from hidden vantage points on elevated terrain. The IDF responded with gunfire and deployed air assets to prevent further casualties or potential abductions.

The fallen soldiers were identified as St.-Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar, Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, St.-Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian, Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Benyamin Asulin, and St.-Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll.

“IDF troops are surrounding Beit Hanoun. It is a fortified target,” said IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin. “We are maintaining a firm hold on the ground to prevent Hamas from re-establishing itself.”

According to the military, dozens of well-trained Hamas fighters remain in the area, using tunnel networks and damaged buildings to monitor and target Israeli forces. Brig. Gen. Defrin added, “We are systematically and thoroughly destroying terrorism,” and said Israel currently controls 65% of the Gaza Strip.