IDF acknowledges ‘failure’ in Hamas attack on south Gaza army encampment

The IDF says it was a “failure” that Hamas gunmen managed to breach an army encampment — including into a building where troops were stationed — in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis yesterday, though the soldiers managed to fight back and successfully repel the attack.

According to an updated IDF probe of the incident, the Hamas operatives emerged from a tunnel some 40-50 meters (130-160 feet) from the military post, which served troops from the Kfir Infantry Brigade, as well as the 74th Armored Battalion.

The tunnel had been known to the military, and part of it had been previously demolished.

The gunmen split into three groups, with one stationed on a dirt mound for suppressive fire, the second heading into a building in the encampment that was not occupied by any soldiers, and the third attacking a building that had soldiers stationed in it.

Two Hamas gunmen breached the building where the troops were stationed, and they exchanged fire for around five minutes. Fighting also took place outside the building with additional gunmen from the same group.

At least one of the gunmen was killed by the soldiers in the building, while the other fled and was killed outside, according to the IDF’s probe.

Three soldiers were injured in this exchange of fire, one seriously and two lightly. The seriously wounded soldier’s condition has since improved.

Fighting inside the encampment lasted for no longer than 10 minutes before the gunmen began trying to flee back to the tunnel, according to the IDF’s probe. Israeli Air Force drones and helicopters were also dispatched and struck the fleeing gunmen.

In all, between six and eight Hamas gunmen were killed inside the post and in the area surrounding it, and another four to seven operatives — who had been launching mortars — were eliminated on the outskirts. Around eight gunmen managed to flee back to the tunnel, the IDF probe finds.