TEHRAN – More Israeli army casualties in the Gaza Strip cap off a deadly week for the occupation regime.

Israeli media have reported that five elite soldiers from the occupation army were killed and a dozen others injured on Friday after a booby-trapped building exploded in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

According to reports, Palestinian resistance fighters detonated a house rigged with explosives, directly targeting the soldiers, which resulted in at least 12 casualties. Israeli media stated that one soldier remains missing, and rescue operations are ongoing.

Many troops were evacuated from the scene, with Hebrew media reporting that most of the targeted forces belonged to the Maglan unit. Numerous helicopters were deployed for evacuations, while Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier overhead.

The incident is currently under a media blackout, as described by Israeli outlets, with intense clashes continuing between the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and Palestinian resistance fighters in Khan Younis. Fighting was also reported in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

Following the ambush, Khan Younis came under heavy artillery shelling, accompanied by intense helicopter activity. Footage circulating online shows IOF helicopters evacuating the dead as search and rescue efforts continue.

Days prior, the IOF confirmed the deaths of three staff sergeants in northern Gaza.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that they were killed by an explosive device detonation in Jabalia. The evacuation was also prolonged and accompanied by a firefight that left several IOF soldiers wounded.

These casualties followed reports by Hamas’s armed wing of engaging in “fierce clashes” with IOF troops in the northern part of the Palestinian territory.

In a separate incident, the IOF announced the death of another soldier in northern Gaza, with one more reported “severely injured”. Reports indicate that Hamas used a quadcopter to drop an improvised explosive device on an IOF unit in Shejaiya.

These losses come as the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on the scale of the battles, stating: “The tunnel network beneath Gaza is enormous, as is the number of fighters.

Their ranks continue to grow, as Hamas can easily recruit from among the youth. The operations are designed to minimize losses, but this is a difficult war—guerrilla warfare with a heavy cost—and, unfortunately, the price will only increase. The phrase ‘Permitted for publication’ may become routine unless there is a change in political directives or a willingness to reach a political settlement.”

The Palestinian resistance continues its operations across Gaza. Since the U.S.-backed Israeli genocidal war resumed on March 18, resistance forces have carried out successful ambushes, inflicting significant casualties on invading infantry.