Hamas releases video of members preparing explosives against Israeli forces

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), released a video on Sunday showing its members preparing explosive devices for use against Israeli military vehicles that penetrate Gaza Strip cities.

The 40-second video showed the group's members painting the devices and placing them in portable bags inside a covered area with black cloth inscribed with the phrases: "He who seeks my demise is chasing a mirage" and "(Operation) Al-Aqsa Flood."

Al-Qassam also announced the use of the "Fedayeen Operations" device for the first time during the ongoing war with Israeli forces in Gaza since last October.

This came as both Al-Qassam and the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, claimed on Sunday targeting Israeli vehicles and soldiers in the Shujaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City and the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in the south of the city.

Al-Qassam said in a statement that its members "destroyed an Israeli Namer APC (armored personnel carrier) with a Yassin 105 rocket, killing and injuring its crew" south of Tal al-Hawa.

In a separate statement, the brigades mentioned that its members also targeted "a Shezaret APC and a D9 military bulldozer" in Tal al-Hawa.

In addition, it stated in another press release that its members "targeted the gathering of Israeli forces in Shujaiya with mortar shells."

In turn, the Al-Quds Brigades announced in a statement that its members are "engaged in fierce clashes" with Israeli soldiers using machine guns and anti-personnel weapons east of Shujaiya.

The brigades mentioned in a separate statement that its members "bombarded Israeli army gatherings" in the Shujaiya neighborhood "with a barrage of mortar shells."

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.