Hamas says its fighters engaged Israeli force infiltrating Gaza

Reuters
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Palestinians inspect the remains of a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the northern Gaza Strip

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas fighters engaged with an Israeli force that infiltrated the Gaza Strip and returned to their base after destroying some Israeli military equipment, the Palestinian group's armed wing Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades said on Sunday.

The group said in a statement the infiltration by what it described as an armoured force took place east of Khan Younis in the southern region of Gaza, amid expectations of a full-scale ground offensive by Israeli forces massed around the enclave.

“Fighters engaged with the infiltrating force, destroying two bulldozers and a tank and forced the force to withdraw, before they returned safely to base,” the statement said.

There was no immediate Israeli comment about the destruction of Israeli equipment or vehicles.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Tim Heritage)