ISTANBUL 

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas claimed an attack on Israeli forces and military vehicles in southern Gaza on Thursday.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that its fighters hit a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles with a barrage of heavy and medium-caliber mortar shells in Al-Bedaw area, north of Khan Younis city.

The attack came one day after Hamas said that it had killed an Israeli soldier and seized his weapon after a failed abduction attempt in the same city. The Israeli army has confirmed Hamas’ claim.

The group published a video of its attempt to capture the Israeli soldier in the Abasan al-Kabira area, east of Khan Younis. The footage also showed Hamas fighters attacking two Israeli tanks and two military bulldozers in the same area.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 56,800 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.