Posted on 07/08/25
| News Source: JPost
The five IDF soldiers who were killed and 12 wounded late Monday by Hamas were ambushed because the terror group managed to place improvised explosive devices (IED) in the area in question in between air force and artillery barrages, the military said on Tuesday night.
According to the IDF, there was heavy air cover fire and artillery fire in the areas where IDF Netzach Yehuda infantry was due to traverse, both in the days before the soldiers entered Beit Hanun in northern Gaza and even only a few hours before.
Despite those efforts to pave a safe path for the infantry, Hamas managed to place newly laid IEDs in the area where the IDF infantry would later pass through after an earlier round of munitions was fired into the area and before the last round of munitions was fired.
Also, though D9 bulldozers and other vehicles have been through essentially all of Beit Hanun and northern Gaza multiple times in the past, by setting the IED only in the last 24 hours before the soldiers entered, Hamas was able to avoid early detection or destruction of the IEDs by these explosive-clearing vehicles.
Questioned about why IDF border lookouts did not spot the Hamas fighters laying the IEDs earlier in the day or the night before, the IDF responded that the spot was around 1.5 kilometers from the border and shrouded in still-standing structures.