Five female Combat Intelligence Collection Corps soldiers were wounded in an ambush in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, in an incident that could have ended in a kidnapping, according to reserve officers familiar with the incident.
The attack occurred near the Beit Hanoun when a terrorist cell fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an unarmored military jeep transporting the soldiers. The vehicle overturned, and the soldiers sustained moderate to serious wounds.
Reserve officers later criticized Division 252’s handling of the situation, noting that the area had been considered cleared. “This was a terrorist cell that emerged from a tunnel within territory the IDF believed to be under control,” one officer said. “The army had mapped the tunnel and planted explosives, but commanders on the ground should have assumed there were offshoots that hadn’t been identified.”
According to the officers, the RPG was launched at close range. “If not for the quick response by nearby forces, including aerial support, the terrorists could have attempted a kidnapping. That’s how this event should be understood and studied,” one officer said. “Had the soldiers been abducted, the ramifications for the war effort would have been profound.”
Two factors prevented the kidnapping
An initial IDF debrief indicated that two key factors likely prevented a kidnapping: the damaged jeep managed to continue moving for approximately 200 meters after the hit, and a nearby unit stationed in a defensive position responded rapidly, opening fire. These actions may have caused the terrorists to abandon any attempt to seize the soldiers.
Although the area behind the outpost was designated as a secured zone, border forces noted it remains part of the active combat area due to the presence of a still-functional tunnel enabling infiltration from deeper inside Gaza.
Shortly after the initial attack, a second incident occurred as forces under the command of the Northern Brigade commander approached the overturned vehicle along the route from the Erez Crossing, an explosive device detonated. CWO G’haleb Sliman Alnasasra was killed, and two soldiers were moderately to seriously wounded.
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