The Israeli military dealt a major blow on Thursday to the terror group Hamas by destroying its main weapons manufacturing site in Gaza.
This vast web of rocket and weapons manufacturing factories, hidden inside civilian buildings in central Gaza, was connected through a massive network of underground tunnels. The dozens of terrorist-run factories were “connected to a tunnel route hundreds of kilometers long,” the Israel Defense Forces revealed Thursday.
These tunnels were being used to supply weapons and ammunition to Hamas’s terrorist fighting force across Gaza. “Using the tunnel network, weapons were transported throughout the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military said.
The IDF revealed the details of the operation in a statement on Thursday evening:
The 36th Division, in cooperation with soldiers of the Yahalom and Shaldag units, exposed and destroyed the heart of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing industry near the Salah Al-Din Road in the Gaza Strip. The area consists of weapons factories and lathes, both above and below ground, that were used to produce ammunition and weapons for Hamas operatives.
The soldiers located dozens of tunnel shafts connected to a tunnel route hundreds of kilometers long, including a tunnel shaft in the residence of a senior official in Hamas’ weapons production unit. The tunnels were divided into areas used for the production of rockets and weapons. Using the tunnel network, weapons were transported throughout the Gaza Strip. (…)
The Hamas terrorists embedded this infrastructure in and near civilian buildings and government institutions, further proving Hamas’ cynical use of the civilian population. The soldiers located terrorist funds in safes, propaganda materials, maps and weapons in the area.
As the ground offensive in Gaza enters its twelfth week, the Israeli soldiers were bringing the fight to the remnants of Hamas’s terrorist leadership and fighting force — much of which is concentrated in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military had ‘completed the dismantling of Hamas’ in the north and was now shifting the focus to central and southern Gaza, IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announced Saturday.
“IDF operations in the Gaza Strip against terrorist operatives and infrastructure are continuing; over the past day approximately 60 terrorists were killed,” the IDF revealed on Thursday.
The heaviest fighting against the Hamas terrorists was taking place in the southern terrorist str0nghold of Khan Yunis. “In Khan Yunis, approximately 40 terrorists were killed over the past day by IDF troops operating in the area. Following IDF intelligence,” the military added.
The IDF soldiers were now engaging the enemy in the “southernmost” parts of Gaza, the Israeli media confirmed Thursday evening.
The Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported the military progress:
In Khan Yunis, the Givati Brigade is said to be fighting in the southernmost area that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ground troops have operated in so far.
Israeli soldiers have reportedly killed dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat as well as with the help of tank fire and air support.
The Givati Brigade’s soldiers conducted a targeted raid on the “Martyrs’ Outpost”, belonging to the Southern Battalion of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, and the offices of the Battalion Commander and other Hamas military commanders,” read the IDF statement.
The IDF is said to have located weapons and intelligence documents, including dozens of hand grenades, AK-47s, ammunition, excavation equipment, launchers, RPG missiles, explosives, and combat management documents. “The battalion compound included a training area for both open and urban warfare, alongside operational offices used by Hamas terrorists of the Khan Yunis Brigade.”
The Hamas terrorists continued to use Gaza hospitals to fire rockets and mortars at Israeli troops as the IDF undertook every possible step to minimize civilian casualties.
The Israeli security forces arrested more Hamas terrorists operating under the watch of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in a West Bank raid. Israeli soldiers searched hundreds of Palestinian homes, recovering large amounts of weapons and explosives.
The anti-terror raid highlights the terrorist threat lurking in the PLO-Fatah-run West Bank — a body largely regarded by the Biden administration and Western governments as the key player to govern Gaza once the IDF wipes out Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post reported the counterterrorism raid:
Israeli security forces arrested 15 terror suspects and killed eight more in a 35-hour raid of Tulkarm in the West Bank, the IDF said in a Thursday statement.
Reservist forces, along with Shin Bet, YAMAS, and Border Police, uncovered dozens of explosive devices hidden underneath roads across the West Bank.
As part of the 35-hour raid, which continued into Thursday evening, Israeli forces scanned through hundreds of buildings in Tulkarm and located countless weaponry and other military equipment, the IDF said.
During the operation, IDF trmaioops encountered and clashed with armed terrorists, who hurled explosives at the forces, the Israeli military said.
Some of the armed terrorists were killed by targeted aerial strikes conducted by the forces.
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