IDF expands ground op in southern Gaza, pushing further into Rafah
Mortar shells fired at troops near Khan Younis, armored bulldozer hit by IED, none hurt; IDF acknowledges mistakenly firing on ambulances in Rafah, says troops targeted Hamas
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israeli military said Saturday evening it had expanded its ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip in the past few hours.
Troops pushed into the al-Jneina neighborhood of Rafah as part of efforts to expand a buffer zone along the borders of the Strip, the IDF said. During the operation, the IDF said troops demolished Hamas infrastructure in the area.
Separately, dozens of airstrikes were carried out over the weekend, targeting what the military said was Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad infrastructure. The targets included weapon depots, rocket launchers and buildings used by the terror groups, according to the IDF.
Strikes also killed several terror operatives, including some behind mortar attacks on Israel, the military added.
On Saturday afternoon, three mortar shells were launched at IDF troops operating on the outskirts of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. Additionally, the IDF said an armored D9 bulldozer was hit by an explosive device planted in the ground in the same area.
No soldiers were wounded in either incident, the military noted.
כוחות צה”ל החלו בשעות האחרונות בפעילות קרקעית במרחב שכונת אל-ג’נינה שברפיח, במטרה להרחיב את מרחב האבטחה בדרום הרצועה.
במסגרת הפעילות השמידו הכוחות תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חמאס.במקביל, צה”ל ושב”כ ממשיכים בתקיפות אוויריות נגד מטרות טרור של ארגוני החמאס והגא״פ ברחבי הרצועה.… pic.twitter.com/CgdqaAOIKE
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 29, 2025
Following the attacks, the military issued an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the area, and later said it struck the launch site.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, published a map of the area that was to be evacuated, saying that it was a “final warning” before the IDF carried out strikes there.
The area to be evacuated included the Abasan suburbs of Khan Younis, and the towns of al-Qarara and Khuza’a.
חיל-האוויר תקף לפני זמן קצר בחאן יונס עמדה לשיגור פצמ”רים, במרחב שממנו שוגרו הפצמ”רים לעבר כוחות צה”ל בדרום הרצועה מוקדם יותר היום. pic.twitter.com/MmlYxE1QuH
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 29, 2025
Also on Saturday, the IDF acknowledged mistakenly opening fire on ambulances and fire engines in the southern Gaza Strip a week ago, as it targeted and killed several Hamas operatives. The incident took place last Sunday in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. According to Hamas authorities, at least one rescue worker was killed.
According to the military, troops had opened fire “toward Hamas vehicles and eliminated several Hamas gunmen” in Tel Sultan. “A few minutes afterward, additional vehicles advanced suspiciously toward the troops… The troops responded by firing toward the suspicious vehicles, eliminating a number of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists,” the IDF said
The IDF adds that “after an initial inquiry, it was determined that some of the suspicious vehicles… were ambulances and fire trucks,” while condemning “the repeated use” by “terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip of ambulances for terrorist purposes.”
The military did not say if there was gunfire coming from the vehicles.
On Friday, the Hamas-run civil defense agency reported finding the body of the team leader and the rescue vehicles — an ambulance and a firefighting vehicle — and said a vehicle from the Palestine Red Crescent Society was also “reduced to a pile of scrap metal.”
On Friday, the IDF said it carried out 25 strikes across Gaza, targeting operatives and infrastructure of Hamas and other terror groups, as United Nations agencies accused Israel of atrocities and forced displacement in the Strip.
The Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry said Israel had killed 896 Palestinians since resuming hostilities on March 18, and over 50,000 since the war was triggered by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023. The figures cannot be independently confirmed and don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it seeks to avoid targeting civilians and accuses Hamas of embedding itself among them.
The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA reported several deaths on Friday in airstrikes on homes in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis, as well as a tent sheltering displaced people in the Jabalia camp and a vehicle west of Khan Younis. WAFA also reported gunfire by Israeli military vehicles in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya, artillery fire in Gaza City and demolition of buildings in Rafah by Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, amid aid agencies’ warnings of a food shortage in Gaza, the World Central Kitchen charity said Israel had struck one of its food distribution sites in Gaza on Thursday, killing a local volunteer identified as Jalal and wounding six others. The IDF said it was probing the incident and in touch with WCK.
Israel announced on March 2 that it would suspend the delivery of all goods and supplies to Gaza due to what it said was Hamas’s refusal to accept a proposal to extend the initial phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal that was reached in January. After a two-week impasse, Israel scuttled the deal with a series of airstrikes across the Strip.
The 42-day first phase saw Hamas release 33 women, children, civilian men over 50 and those deemed “humanitarian cases,” in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, including over 270 serving life terms in connection with the murders of dozens of Israelis.
A potential second phase would have required Israel to withdraw from Gaza and seen Hamas release any hostages still alive, a number believed to stand at 24. All are young men abducted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
But Israel refused to negotiate over the second phase, with the government saying it would not accept ending the war with Hamas still in power.
A third phase would have seen Hamas return the remains of 35 hostages.
Mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been scrambling to renew the ceasefire.
AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.