Hamas says it is engaged in 'fierce fighting' in Gaza's Rafah

CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas militants engaged in "fierce fighting" with Israeli soldiers on Thursday in the south of the Gaza Strip near Rafah, the Palestinian militant group said.

The statement, issued on Telegram, suggests that Hamas is still active in areas where the Israeli military has expanded its control, more than 19 months after the start of Israel's air and ground campaign in Gaza.

In a later statement, it said fighters ambushed an Israeli 12-man force inside a house in the Tanur neighborhood in the eastern Rafah area with two anti-personnel and anti-armour rockets, killing and wounding several soldiers.

The Israeli army confirmed in a statement on Friday that two of its soldiers had been killed in combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

The statement added two officers and two other soldiers had been severely injured.

Hamas has rarely reported fighting around Rafah in recent months, with most clashes reported in the eastern area of the nearby city of Khan Younis and northern parts of the coastal territory.

Israel said earlier this month it would further extend its offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed its offensive in March after the collapse of a fragile, U.S.-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for six weeks.

(Reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly; Writing by Ahmed Elimam and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Aidan Lewis, William Maclean)

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