The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that terrorists tried to abduct an Israeli soldier in Khan Younis during an attack on troops on July 9. The attempt follows a Hamas publication on July 8 that suggested the group would adopt this tactic against IDF soldiers.
“An initial inquiry suggests that during IDF operational activity in Khan Yunis, terrorists came out of an underground tunnel and attacked IDF troops. During the attack, the terrorists attempted to abduct a soldier who served as an engineering vehicle operator. The soldier fought the terrorists, and they shot and killed him. Security forces operating in the area opened fire toward the terrorists, hitting several of them and thwarting the abduction,” the IDF said.
The IDF identified the fallen soldier as Master Sergeant (Reserve) Abraham Azulay, aged 25, from Yitzhar.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the assault on July 10 when it published footage of the event via Al Jazeera. The video shows two Hamas members attacking an IDF bulldozer and shooting Azulay after he exited the vehicle. The footage did not clearly show an attempted abduction. However, Hamas acknowledged that it tried to take Azulay in the attack in a preamble to its video and separate statements.
Two days before the attack, Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida also published a statement that lauded the Islamist group’s operational victories over the IDF and suggested it is attempting to abduct Israeli soldiers.
“The war of attrition our fighters are waging against the [Israeli] enemy across the Gaza Strip will inflict additional losses on them every day. And if it recently succeeded in miraculously freeing its soldiers from hell, it may fail to do so later, and additional prisoners will fall into our hands,” Obeida stated.
Obeida’s statement—specifically about the IDF “recently” succeeding in freeing its soldiers—refers to a Hamas ambush that killed five Israeli troops and wounded 14 others in Beit Hanoun on July 8. Obedia’s mention of abductions in the statement indicates that Hamas may have attempted to abduct soldiers in that attack, too.
Earlier in the war, on May 25, 2024, Hamas claimed that it had abducted IDF soldiers from the northern Gaza Strip. Analysts doubted the evidence that accompanied the claim, an assessment soon confirmed by the IDF.
“The IDF clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted,” the military said at the time.
