For the first time since Israeli ground operations began against Hamas in Gaza, soldiers of the 5th “Sharon” (Reserve) Infantry Brigade are operating in Gaza’s Khirbat Ikhza’a , in Khan Yunis which was the base of many of the terrorists who attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
Commanding Officer of the 5th Brigade, Col. Tal Kuritsky gives an update of IDF operations in Khirbat Ikhza’a, December 29, 2023 (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
Named “Operation Oz and Nir,” soldiers, working alongside IDF engineering battalions, have eliminated Hamas terrorists and attacked several significant terror targets, including tunnel entrances, tunnel shafts, and rocket launch positions.
Dozens of tunnel shafts were discovered, the IDF announced on Friday, and large caches of weapons including Kalashnikovs, grenades, mines, rocket launchers, and RPGs were found.
Engineering troops destroyed the tunnel shafts, which were found in the homes of Hamas terrorists who participated in October 7.
Operation Oz and Nir was launched a few days ago and was named after Kibbutz Nir Oz, which suffered so much at the hands of Hamas.
Commander of the Gaza Division, Brig.-Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, in a statement to soldiers, announced that “On October 7, terrorists came from Khuza’a who committed the most horrifying crimes imaginable. The attack by the Gaza terrorists from Khirbat Ikhza’a was aimed at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community of people of work and peace.”
IDF troops continue operations in southern Gaza
IDF troops continue to operate in Khan Yunis, one of the last strongholds of Hamas. On Thursday, Israeli paratroopers identified a terrorist pulling an RPG out of a stash and threw several grenades toward him.
Additionally, soldiers located several terrorists hiding inside a building and eliminated them using tank fire.
In another incident, the combat team located a terrorist cell barricaded in a structure, and an Israeli Air Force jet targeted the building, killing the terrorists.
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