Thirteen IDF soldiers were killed overnight in an ambush when they encountered fierce fighting in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, in the northern part of the 40-kilometer-long Strip.
An anti-tank missile was fired from within a Gaza building struck an Israeli armored personnel carrier, killing seven soldiers from the 13th battalion of the Golani Brigade, the IDF said.
In the ensuing fighting, an unspecified number of soldiers were wounded, including Col. Raslan Alian, the Druze commander of the Golani Brigade. He has been hospitalized at the Soroka hospital in Beersheba. Dozens of wounded IDF soldiers were brought from the fighting in Gaza to a number of hospitals across Israel on Sunday morning. In total, 53 wounded Israeli soldiers have been hospitalized from the fighting in Gaza.
Col. Alian, from the Arab town of Shfaram, in northern Israel, made history in 2013 when he was appointed to command the brigade, becoming the IDF’s first Druze brigade commander. Golani is one of IDF’s most decorated brigade. He fought in the Second Lebanon War and was wounded fighting Hezbollah.
The army did not immediately release for publication the names of the 13 soldiers who were killed as the families were informed earlier on Sunday.
At least two of the Israeli soldiers killed were dual U.S.-Israel nationals, according to IDF officials.
The ambush triggered a heavy aerial bombardment of the area, prompting thousands of residents to flee on foot.
Israeli officials said Shejaiya is a Hamas stronghold, and that 150 rockets had been launched from that area in the past two weeks, according to Israel’s Channel 2 tv.
Israeli military officials said Sunday that they had told civilians to leave the Shejaiya area days ago, ahead of IDF military action.
The army, which has increased its troop presence in the Gaza Strip, reports having killed 130 gunmen since the ground operation began on Thursday night.
Much of the conflict over the past day has taken place in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The army found and demolished two tunnels in the area, stretching toward Kibbutz Zikim and Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asarah, and an additional 14 tunnels were being explored and readied for demolition.
IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said that much of the fighting has taken place in and around the tunnels. “Hamas are really trying to defend their tunnel infrastructure,” he said.
Lerner added that beyond the east-west tunnels dug in order to carry out attacks within Israel, the army has seen an array of offensive tunnels used within Gaza, in order to facilitate rocket fire and ambushes on incoming troops. “There’s a whole underground Gaza,” he said.
Four other IDF soldiers were killed in fighting earlier Saturday.
The Israeli Security Cabinet is to meet Sunday night on the ground operation.