For the first time since the beginning of the war, the 5th Brigade Combat Team is operating in Khirbat Ikhza'a - the area from which Hamas terrorists set out to massacre and abduct civilians in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th.

The soldiers of the 5th Brigade under the command of the Gaza Division, together with soldiers of the Armored and Combat Engineering Corps, have begun operations in the Khirbat Ikhza'a area in the southern Gaza Strip.

On October 7th, Hamas terrorists set out from the Khirbat Ikhza'a area, invaded Israeli territory, and attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz, where they brutally murdered and abducted scores of innocent civilians.

The soldiers are working to gain operational control of the Khirbat Ikhza'a area in this additional focal point for IDF combat operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. So far, the soldiers there have eliminated terrorists and struck a number of significant terrorist targets, including tunnel shafts, a tunnel route and anti-tank missile launch posts. Dozens of tunnel shafts have already been located, as well as large quantities of weapons, including AK-47s, rifles, grenades, mines, launchers and mortars.

The combat engineering soldiers of the brigade’s combat team also destroyed terrorist infrastructure located in the residences of the terrorists who participated in the brutal massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th.