Hamas says Israeli soldier sniped in northern Gaza

By Zein Khalil and Tarek Chouiref

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Sunday its fighters sniped an Israeli soldier in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement posted on Telegram that the attack took place on Saturday in the al-Zarqa area, south of Jabalia, and resulted in a “direct hit” on the soldier.

No additional details were provided. The Israeli army has not immediately commented on the report.

The announcement came as Israel pressed ahead with its assault on Gaza City and across the enclave, carrying out air and ground bombardments and deploying booby-trapped robots in residential neighborhoods.

On Aug. 30, the al-Qassam Brigades warned that Israel would “pay the price in blood” for its plan to occupy Gaza City, stressing that Israeli captives would remain alongside its fighters in combat zones under the same conditions.

The Israeli army launched its assault on Gaza City on Aug. 11 from the Zeitoun neighborhood in the southeast. The campaign, later dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots 2,” has involved house demolitions with booby-trapped robots, artillery shelling, random gunfire and mass displacement.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 65,300 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has devastated the enclave and forced the entire population into famine.