Tal al-Sultan Ambush

Tal al-Sultan ambush
	Part of the Rafah offensive during the Israel–Hamas war
	; A Namer APC and a Merkava tank of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion during an exercise in January 2023
Date	15 June 2024
Location	Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, Gaza Strip
Result	Hamas victory
Belligerents
Hamas	Israel
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Wassem Mahmoud †
Units involved
Al-Qassam Brigades	Israel Defense Forces 601st Battalion; ;
Casualties and losses
None	8 killed; 1 Namer destroyed; 1 D9 armored bulldozer destroyed

The Tal al-Sultan ambush occurred on 15 June 2024, when members of the armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, ambushed an Israeli convoy near the Palestinian refugee camp of Tal al-Sultan, west of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Background

On 6 May, Israeli forces launched a military offensive in and around the city of Rafah. Before and during the initial phase of the operation, Israeli forces conducted at least 50 airstrikes targeting the area.^[1]

On 26 May, an Israeli airstrike in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 45 Palestinians. According to Israeli authorities, the strike targeted a Hamas installation. The attack triggered a fire in the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp, where dozens of refugees were sheltered.^[2]^[3]

Ambush

At around 05:15 local time, during an overnight offensive in Tal al-Sultan, a Namer armored personnel carrier, which had been involved in the operation, was returning with the rest of the force to captured buildings to allow troops to rest.^[4]^[5] Hamas first targeted a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer with an Al-Yassin 105 anti-armor missile, setting it on fire and causing injuries and fatalities among its crew.^[6]^[7] Following this, Hamas fired another Al-Yassin 105 missile at the Namer,^[8] which was the fifth or sixth vehicle in the convoy. Initially, it was believed that the Namer may have hit a land mine or that an explosive device had been placed on it.^[9]^[10]^[11] The Namer was ultimately destroyed by the missile, and its crew was killed. It burned for about two hours after the ambush,^[12] before being towed to a safe location.^[13]

References

^ "Israel-Gaza updates: 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
^ Al-Shalchi, Hadeel; Baba, Anas (May 27, 2024). "An Israeli airstrike killed 45 Palestinians in an encampment for displaced people". npr.
^ "Israeli strike on Rafah, where displaced Gazans are sheltering, kills 35 days after ICJ ruling". ABC News. 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
^ "Israel-Gaza war: 8 Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah, IDF says". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ Boxerman, Aaron (15 June 2024). "Israel Says Eight Soldiers Are Killed in Southern Gaza".
^ Al Jazeera Staff. "8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza ambush; deadliest day in months". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ Raine, Lauren Izso, Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Andrew (2024-06-15). "Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in one of the deadliest incidents for the IDF since October 7". CNN. Retrieved 2024-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ admin (2024-06-15). "'Complex Ambush' - Israeli Army Acknowledges Killing of Eight Soldiers in Gaza Battles". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ "8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza in deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months". AP News. 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ "Capt. Wassem Mahmoud, seven other IDF soldiers killed in Rafah blast". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ "Eight Israeli soldiers and 19 Palestinians killed as fighting continues in Rafah". ABC News. 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ Julian, Hana Levi (2024-06-16). "Israel Grieves as IDF Identifies Eight Soldiers Killed in Rafah, Two in Northern Gaza". Retrieved 2024-12-12.
^ Fabian, Emanuel (15 June 2024). "Eight troops killed in Rafah explosion, in deadliest incident for IDF in 6 months". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[1] "Israel-Gaza updates: 300,000 have fled Rafah, UN agency says". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

[2] Al-Shalchi, Hadeel; Baba, Anas (May 27, 2024). "An Israeli airstrike killed 45 Palestinians in an encampment for displaced people". npr.

[3] "Israeli strike on Rafah, where displaced Gazans are sheltering, kills 35 days after ICJ ruling". ABC News. 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

[4] "Israel-Gaza war: 8 Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah, IDF says". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[5] Boxerman, Aaron (15 June 2024). "Israel Says Eight Soldiers Are Killed in Southern Gaza".

[6] Al Jazeera Staff. "8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza ambush; deadliest day in months". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[7] Raine, Lauren Izso, Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Andrew (2024-06-15). "Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in one of the deadliest incidents for the IDF since October 7". CNN. Retrieved 2024-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[8] (2024-06-15). "'Complex Ambush' - Israeli Army Acknowledges Killing of Eight Soldiers in Gaza Battles". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[9] "8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza in deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months". AP News. 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[10] "Capt. Wassem Mahmoud, seven other IDF soldiers killed in Rafah blast". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[11] "Eight Israeli soldiers and 19 Palestinians killed as fighting continues in Rafah". ABC News. 2024-06-16. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[12] Julian, Hana Levi (2024-06-16). "Israel Grieves as IDF Identifies Eight Soldiers Killed in Rafah, Two in Northern Gaza". Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[13] Fabian, Emanuel (15 June 2024). "Eight troops killed in Rafah explosion, in deadliest incident for IDF in 6 months". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

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