​​​​​​​ISTANBUL 

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Thursday that it had fatally shot an Israeli soldier and destroyed four military vehicles in attacks in the northern Gaza Strip.

The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that its fighters blew up four roadside bombs east of Jabalia on June 20, destroying two Merkava tanks, an armored personnel carrier, and a D9 bulldozer.

Three days later, Hamas snipers shot dead an Israeli soldier near al-Muntar Hill, east of Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, the group added in a statement.

Hamas did not explain the delay in reporting the attacks. However, due to the complexity of the fighting in Gaza, announcements are sometimes postponed until fighters safely return and field verification is completed.

There was no comment from the Israeli army on the claim.

Palestinian resistance factions have recently intensified attacks against Israeli forces across Gaza.

On Tuesday, seven Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hamas ambush in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 56,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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.