Breathless bodycam footage has revealed the moment an Israeli reservist fended off two Hamas gunmen in a deadly close-range firefight that unfolded in the corridors of a Gaza City building.
The adrenaline-filled clip shows the soldier from the Israel Combat Engineering Corps' Yalam unit being confronted by Hamas fighters as he walked through the structure in the city's Shajaiya district.
Entering a room with the door blown off its hinges, the soldier initially appears to be alone, but the moment of calm is immediately shattered when a pair of Hamas gunmen appear from the rubble and begin shooting.
The reservist reacts with incredible speed, jumping back into the hallway for cover before peeking around the corner and shooting a terrorist just a few feet away.
The soldier takes cover again and pauses for a moment of rest.
But seconds later he is blindsided by the brutal explosion of a grenade thrown into the hallway by his enemy.
The IDF reservist is seen shooting a Hamas gunman from less than 3 meters away
The body of the first Hamas gunman lies spread out on the ground
The IDF soldier returns to the corridor to recover before a grenade is thrown by the second Hamas gunman
The explosion catches the IDF reservist off guard, but he somehow miraculously survived
The IDF soldier burst back into the room, turned the corner and looked at the second terrorist
For a split second it seemed that the ferocious explosion might have taken out the fearless soldier.
But he heroically dragged himself to his feet, waded through the rubble and forced himself back into the room to track down the sole remaining Hamas fighter.
As he turned the corner, the terrorist appeared at the top of a staircase and squeezed a single shot from his pistol, but missed.
His lack of marksmanship proved fatal.
The Israeli reservist immediately returned fire and pumped five bullets of hot lead into the Hamas attacker from almost point-blank range, causing him to collapse to the ground.
The stunning images highlight the intensity of the fighting between IDF and Hamas fighters in Gaza.
The Israeli army said on Wednesday that 115 soldiers have been killed so far during the offensive in the Gaza Strip.
It said 10 soldiers were killed in fighting in the north of the area on Tuesday, the deadliest day for the army since the ground assault began on October 27.
But now Israel is facing increasing pressure from its allies over its war in Gaza, with its main backer – the United States – criticizing the bombing in response to the October 7 attacks as “indiscriminate”.
The United Nations General Assembly yesterday also overwhelmingly backed a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the devastated area.
The war began after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and bring the hostages home and launched a devastating offensive against Gaza, which is ruled by the militant group.
More than 18,400 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The ministry said on Wednesday that at least another 50 people were killed in the latest wave of Israeli airstrikes over the territory.
Biden told a campaign rally in Washington that Israel “supported most of the world” after the Hamas attack.
“But they are starting to lose that support because of the indiscriminate bombings that are happening,” he said.
Israeli soldiers operate in the Shajaiya district of Gaza City amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip December 8, 2023
Israeli soldiers operate with a tank in the Shajaiya district of Gaza City, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, December 8, 2023
Israeli soldiers operate in the Shajaiya district of Gaza City amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip December 8, 2023
A view of the damaged area after Israeli airstrikes on December 12, 2023 in Rafah, Gaza
A photo taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during an Israeli attack on December 11, 2023
Washington has been calling on Israel for weeks to take greater care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, because too many Palestinians have been killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said there was “disagreement” with Biden over how Gaza would be governed after the conflict, reflecting a rare rift between the allies.
And the leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand – other allies of Israel – called for a ceasefire, saying in a rare joint statement that they were “alarmed about the dwindling safe space for civilians in Gaza.” .
Their statement came after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Tuesday demanding a ceasefire, with an overwhelming majority of 153 member states voting in favor.
While the United States and Israel voted against the resolution, Australia, Canada and New Zealand all voted in favor.
The vote came as the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, described the situation in Gaza as “hell on earth.”
'Back in #Gaza, endless tragedy. People are everywhere, living on the streets, needing everything. They plead for safety and an end to this hell on earth,” Lazzarini posted on X at the end of a visit to the area.
Meanwhile, fears of a wider conflict continue to grow, with Iranian-backed groups targeting US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, and gun battles taking place daily along Israel's border with Lebanon.
The Israeli military said projectiles had been fired from Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday and that it had retaliated by attacking launch sites.