According to Israeli media reports, seven Israeli soldiers were wounded while Al Jazeera reported four others missing after Hamas fighters staged a nighttime ambush in Al-Zeitoun.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzideen Al-Qassam Brigades, said its fighters destroyed an Israeli armoured vehicle with a powerful explosive device near Gaza University in the southern Zeitoun area of Gaza City.
It said: “Our fighters intercepted helicopters attempting an evacuation (of Israeli troops).”
The ambush reportedly targeted troops from the 162nd Division and the 401st Brigade operating in Al-Zeitoun. Evacuation helicopters came under heavy fire, with footage showing flares lighting the night sky, helicopters hovering low, and the sounds of heavy gunfire and artillery.
Wounded soldiers were flown to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israeli outlets reported.
Israel’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, was quick to dismiss the missing soldiers claims as “false news” spread by pro-Hamas media, showing images of a destroyed Gaza Strip as a metric of Israel’s victory.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 63,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, with Israeli bombing reducing most of the strip to rubble.
The United Nations formally declared famine in Gaza last week, citing “systematic obstruction” of aid deliveries as Israel’s five-month blockade has cut off lifelines for hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Gaza's health ministry said five more people, including two children, died of starvation in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths from hunger and malnutrition to 322 since the war began.
Hannibal protocol activated
In response to the Hamas ambush, the Israeli military is believed to have activated the Hannibal Protocol—a controversial directive authorizing the use of overwhelming firepower to prevent soldiers from being taken captive, even at risk to their lives.
Airstrikes and artillery fire intensified across Gaza City’s eastern districts overnight, following Israel’s declaration of the area as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Israeli authorities have not issued an official statement on the incident. However, military censorship reportedly imposed a publication ban on details surrounding the four missing soldiers, even as coverage of the “difficult events” circulated across Israeli social media.
Hamas statement
Earlier on Friday, Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson, Abu Obeida, warned that Israel’s push to seize Gaza City would “increase the chances of capturing new soldiers” and prove disastrous for its leadership.
He added that Israeli captives would remain with fighters “in places of confrontation, in the same conditions of danger and living.”
He said the group will do its utmost to safeguard Israeli captives and further warned that the group will publicly announce the death of any captive caused by Israeli aggression, releasing their name, image, and proof of their death.
His comments came shortly after the Israeli army confirmed it had recovered the remains of two captives earlier in the week, including Ilan Weiss. Israel estimates that around 50 captives remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, while more than 10,800 Palestinians are detained in Israeli prisons, according to rights groups.
Ceasefire talks
In mid-August, Hamas accepted a 60-day ceasefire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar that would see a phased release of Israeli captives and a prisoner exchange with Israel.
Under the agreement, Hamas would release 10 living captives and the remains of 18 others, while Israel would free 150 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 50 additional detainees with long terms. Israeli forces would reposition to a narrow buffer zone along Gaza’s borders, allowing significant humanitarian aid to enter the enclave.
The ceasefire would serve as a framework for further negotiations toward a permanent peace deal. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond to the proposal, insisting on the release of all captives at once and demanding Hamas’s disarmament.
Hamas has demanded a permanent end to the war and the lifting of Israel’s blockade, saying it would only disarm once a Palestinian state is established.
Meanwhile, Israel is preparing to invade Gaza City, the territory’s largest population centre, while far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s government have openly urged the annexation of the strip and the forced removal of its 2.4 million Palestinians.
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