Khan Yunis: Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, has announced that it successfully detonated an explosive device in an Israeli military vehicle east of Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip. The group also confirmed that it had shelled the area of the incursion with mortars.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Al-Quds Brigades stated, “Our fighters were able to detonate a pre-planted explosive device in an Israeli military vehicle that had penetrated areas east of Khan Yunis, coinciding with our shelling of the incursion area with a number of mortar shells.”

This attack follows the Israeli army’s announcement regarding the expansion of its ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army’s spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, issued a statement indicating that IDF forces had initiated a ground operation in the Al-Janina neighborhood in Rafah. The purpose of this operation was to expand the defensive security zone in the southern Gaza Strip while targeting and destroying Hamas infrastructure.

The Israeli military continues to execute a strategic “gradual expansion” of its ground operations across various regions, including the northern Gaza Strip, the central Gaza Strip along the Netzarim axis, and the southern Gaza Strip in the Shaboura and Tal al-Sultan neighborhoods in Rafah.