By Cyrille Louis
Published 3 hours ago, updated 3 hours ago
Israeli soldiers discovered an underground tunnel in the rubble of a building in Chajaya district on December 10. IDF/GPO/SIPA
STORY – Nine Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday after being ambushed in this Hamas stronghold.
The Chajaya district, which stretches east of Gaza City, is portrayed by the IDF as one of Hamas' most formidable strongholds. During the war in the summer of 2014, it was the scene of fierce fighting as well as deadly and devastating bombings. The Israeli army, which initially decided to bypass it in the first phase of its offensive in response to the October 7 massacres, is stationed there for two weeks to complete the conquest of the north of the enclave.
On Tuesday afternoon, nine soldiers, including two senior officers, were killed and six others wounded there in an incident that the Haaretz daily described as a “coordinated ambush.” Another Israeli soldier, serving in an engineering unit, was killed in a separate sector in the north of the enclave. With a death toll of ten, December 12 is one of the deadliest days for the IDF since the ground offensive began.
women and children
According to the army spokesman, more than 5,000 Hamas fighters…
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