Two Israeli soldiers wounded, hostage slain in failed rescue
Fierce gunfight breaks out between the Al-Qassam fighters and Israeli special force.
Daily TribuneFierce gunfight breaks out between the Al-Qassam fighters and Israeli special force.
Two soldiers have been "severely injured" during a hostage rescue operation overnight in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said Friday, with Hamas terrorists claiming a captive was killed.
"During the operation, numerous terrorists who took part in the abducting and holding of hostages were killed," the army said Friday in a statement.
"No hostages were rescued in this activity," it added.
Earlier, Hamas said its fighters had "succeeded in foiling an Israeli attempt to free an Israeli captive."
"A fierce gunfight broke out between the Al-Qassam fighters and the Israeli special force, leaving many soldiers wounded while the captive Israeli… was announced killed," Hamas said in an English-language statement.
The group released a video showing what it said was the hostage's body.
Agence France-Presse was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The Israeli army did not confirm or deny the Hamas statement.
"Please refrain from spreading unverified rumors and enabling psychological terror by Hamas," it said.
A one-week truce that ended on 1 December saw 105 hostages of Hamas released from Gaza, including 80 Israelis — mostly women and children — in exchange for 240 Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Efforts to revive the ceasefire have stalled and Israel says 138 hostages are believed to still be in Hamas captivity.
Hamas terrorists dragged around 240 hostages back to Gaza after its bloody 7 October attack on Israel, and fears for their safety have gripped the Israeli public over the course of the eight-week war.
Meanwhile, three Hezbollah fighters and a Syrian were killed on Friday in an Israeli drone strike on their car in the south of Syria, a war monitor said.
"A Syrian and three Lebanese Hezbollah fighters from the surveillance and missile-launching unit were killed in the Israeli drone strike on their rented car" in Madinat al-Baath town in the province of Quneitra, close to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
The strikes were a response to the bombardment of Israeli-annexed Golan, the monitor said.
WITH AFP