5th Brigade forces operating in northern Gaza
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF released on Saturday footage from Israeli forces’ operations in the northern Gaza Strip, depicting a sophisticated tunnel system featuring an underground elevator.
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According to a statement, a 5th Reserve Infantry Brigade combat team, operating under the Southern Command's 162nd Division, engaged in combat in the Al Shati neighborhood in the Palestinian enclave’s north.
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Underground elevator shaft uncovered by IDF 5th Brigade forces under northern Gaza's Al Shati neighborhood
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The army reported that the brigade’s combat team, in collaboration with the Air Force and the Yahalom Special Operations Engineering Unit, destroyed a tunnel leading to a Hamas hideout equipped with an elevator, similar to one previously discovered that was presumably used by Hamas’s military commander Mohammad Deif.
The soldiers also seized numerous weapons, night vision and surveillance equipment, intelligence documents belonging to the terrorist organization, and destroyed rocket launchers.
The infantry brigade, which has been involved in defensive operations around the Gaza border region in the early days of the war and subsequently advanced into the heart of the Strip for further combat duties, has since completed its mission and was rotated out, with fresh troops taking its place.
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Rocket lunchers discovered and destroyed by IDF 5th Brigade forces in northern Gaza's Al Shati neighborhood
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
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Weapons seized by IDF 5th Brigade forces in northern Gaza's Al Shati neighborhood
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
5th Brigade Commander Colonel Tal Koritzky expressed pride in his troops at a ceremony marking their departure from the Gaza Strip. "I am proud of us for our stubborn fighting while sticking to our mission. It's about quality and determined combat for the sake of others, for our society, for the future," he told his troops.
"I am confident that when the brigade is called upon for the next mission, we will stand ready and respond 'Here we are', simply because that's who we are," the commander added. "There's no one but us. I had the privilege to fight alongside you, and I am proud to command you."