IDF soldiers trapped and killed 106 Hamas terrorists in two hours in northern Gaza

The IDF and Israeli media outlets published stunning new details of one of the most successful nights the Israeli forces have had since the start of the war, with the troops killing 106 Hamas terrorists in the span of around two hours, without losing a single soldier.

“It was the most significant night we remember in the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip,” a military source told Army Radio, whose correspondent Doron Kadosh reported the details of the overnight fighting.

The operation followed the end of the siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya, where the IDF captured over 240 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.

On Sunday evening, the Israeli army received intelligence that terrorists planned a large-scale attack on Israeli forces, aiming to break out of the besieged Jabaliya camp and possibly intending to flee northern Gaza toward the south.

⭕️ Following intelligence regarding attempts by terrorists to flee, deploy deception tactics and conduct ambushes in the Jabaliya area, IDF troops operated to identify and eliminate multiple terrorists in the area overnight.

This operation follows the targeted operation against… pic.twitter.com/MTwJOCjaBn

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 30, 2024

The attack was planned for later in the night, to use the darkness and the heavy rain as cover. After receiving the early warning, the Israeli army set up hidden ambushes, in turn, using the cover of darkness to hide large forces waiting for the terrorists.

Around 11 a.m., the first reports of various terrorist squads approaching Israeli troops reached the division commander. The troops began firing with small arms and tanks, and also directed drone strikes against the terrorists.

The terrorists mostly moved in small squads, some armed with AK-47 rifles, while others only wore military vests.

IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza have consistently recounted that most terrorists in Gaza walk around unarmed, using the numerous weapon caches hidden in civilian homes to arm themselves when needed.

Soldiers of the Givati and the 401st Armored Brigades took part in the ambush, each killing dozens of terrorists. The Multi-Dimensional Unit (also dubbed Ghost Unit) even managed the rare capture of a terrorist amid the fighting.  

The largest attempted attack came late at night, when some 30 terrorists attempted to flank a position of Givati’s Shaked Battalion. In the morning, the soldiers found 16 bodies from this battle alone.

The 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade counted a total of 24 bodies of terrorists they eliminated in several clashes, all of whom IDF intelligence identified as known Hamas operatives.

At the end of the night, the IDF Southern Command counted 106 terrorists killed, while two surrendered and were taken captive, a rare occurrence in recent clashes in Gaza.

While the night ambush was an operational success, the fact that over 100 terrorists attempted a possibly concerted attack, even while the IDF claims its operations in northern Gaza to almost be completed, raises difficult questions.

“After two and a half months of fighting in just this one urban area, there are so many terrorists left. What does this tell us about how hard it is to clear other areas?” wrote Seth Frantzman, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Freedom of Democracies.

“When this began it was already the third raid into Jabalia. I’ve actually been to this area twice with the IDF over the last year. The assessment was already that the ‘battalions’ in this area were dismantled a year ago," Frantzman noted.

"When the IDF returned in October 2024 around 70,000 civilians had to be evacuated and several thousand terrorists were found there, many eliminated or detained. And yet it goes on and on, in just this one area,” he added.

According to Army Radio, one of the captured terrorists said he was part of a squad of more than 10 operatives. The IDF is currently investigating whether several squads separately decided to use the bad weather for an escape attempt, or whether this was indeed a concerted, pre-planned attack.

The IDF told Army Radio that “the enemy in the sector is completely disintegrated,” and estimates that only about 100-200 terrorists remain in the area, after killing some 2,500 and capturing around 1,950 more over the past months.

The IDF has made strident efforts to evacuate the civilian population in the area, and soldiers have not encountered any civilians on the streets there in recent months.

Despite the remaining questions, IDF reportedly assessed that it is approaching the completion of its operations in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.