A cell of at least 18 Hamas operatives attempted to raid an Israel Defense Forces encampment in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, according to a military probe of the unusual incident.
Three soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in the attack, the IDF said.
The military assessed that the Hamas gunmen sought to kidnap troops.
According to a military probe, the attack began at around 9 a.m., with the operatives emerging from a tunnel in the south of Khan Younis and opening fire with machine guns and RPGs while approaching the army encampment.
Some of the gunmen managed to breach the encampment, where they exchanged fire with troops of the Kfir Brigade.
At least ten of the operatives were killed by the troops and in airstrikes directed by the forces, while eight managed to flee back into the tunnel, according to the army probe.
The IDF released footage showing the airstrikes and efforts by troops to repel the attack.
“The troops identified more than 15 terrorists who emerged from a tunnel and opened fire, including RPG fire, at the forces,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in a press conference.
“In the same incident, several terrorists entered a building where our forces were residing, and the terrorists were eliminated. We are investigating how this occurred, and will draw the necessary conclusions,” Defrin said.
בקרבות פנים אל פנים: לוחמי חטיבת כפיר חיסלו כעשרה מחבלים לאחר שביצעו ירי לעברם
מוקדם יותר היום, יותר מ-15 מחבלים ביצעו התקפה משולבת של ירי מקלעים ונ״ט, ומספר מחבלים חדרו למגנן של כוחות מגדוד נחשון של חטיבת כפיר במרחב ח׳אן יונס.
במהלך האירוע, לוחמי החטיבה הצליחו לחסל כ-10 מחבלים… pic.twitter.com/ROGLPWMavY— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 20, 2025
A clip circulating online showed the bodies of two gunmen in the army encampment, and another video showed a tank of the 74th Armored Battalion ramming into an RPG-wielding operative amid the attack.
The wounded troops served with the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion. One was seriously injured, and the other two are listed in good condition, according to the military.
Footage from the Hamas attack on an IDF encampment in southern Gaza's Khan Younis this morning shows a tank of the 74th Armored Battalion ramming into a RPG-wielding operative.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 20, 2025
The IDF said it was working to track down the remaining gunmen involved in the attack.
Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, took responsibility for the attack in a statement, claiming that its gunmen “stormed the site” and carried out a suicide bombing.
Al-Qassam claimed to have targeted several tanks with explosive devices and RPGs, and hit several buildings in the encampment being used by the IDF soldiers, using RPGs and machine-gun fire.
“A number of fighters stormed the houses and finished off a number of occupation soldiers inside from point-blank range with light weapons and hand grenades,” the terror group claimed, despite no Israeli soldiers being reported killed in the incident.
The terror group also claimed to have carried out sniper fire that “fatally wounded” the commander of a tank, and that it carried out mortar shelling in the area “to secure the withdrawal of the fighters.”
“Upon the arrival of the rescue force, one of the martyrs detonated himself among the soldiers, leaving them dead and wounded,” Al-Qassam claimed.
Hamas’s military wing said the attack “lasted for several hours,” though according to the IDF probe, the incident was wrapped up in under an hour.
During the war, Hamas has repeatedly made exaggerated claims regarding its operations against IDF troops in Gaza.
The incident on Wednesday marked a rare case of a relatively large cell of operatives attempting to attack an IDF post. Last month, a cell of at least 12 gunmen tried to attack an IDF logistics road in Khan Younis.
Wednesday’s attack came as the IDF was gearing up for a major offensive against Hamas in Gaza City.
