As Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pushes deeper into the Rafah terror stronghold, more evidence of collusion between terror group Hamas and the United Nations’ Palestinian aid agency (UNRWA) comes to light.
The IDF on Wednesday released drone footage showing Hamas terrorists using UN marked vehicles, which enjoy protection in a combat zone. The clip also shows Hamas gunmen apparently shooting at unarmed civilians in and around the UNRWA humanitarian aid depot in Rafah.
The footage shows “a Hamas terrorist firing at Palestinian civilians trying to get aid at a UNRWA compound east of Rafah in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported.
“In the footage, a number of terrorists and gunfire can be seen near UN vehicles and in the area of UNRWA’s logistics warehouse compound in eastern Rafah, which is a central point for the distribution of aid on UNRWA’s behalf in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military disclosed in a press statement.
The IDF urged the UN to investigate the collusion between its agency and Hamas terrorists. This unholy alliance should not come as a surprise to anyone. In February, Israeli soldiers uncovered an underground Hamas commander center right beneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters. Hundreds of UNRWA employees in Gaza are members of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups and took part in the October 7 massacre, Israeli intelligence shows.
“We forwarded the findings to senior members of the international community, and called on the UN to urgently investigate the connection between UNRWA’s logistics centers to Hamas operatives by their vehicles.” IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
The footage released by the IDF also shows Hamas terrorists travelling in UN vehicles, thus misusing the international agency’s diplomatic status for its terror operations. “Several terrorists and gunfire can be seen near UN vehicles and in the area of UNRWA’s logistics warehouse compound in eastern Rafah, which is a central point for the distribution of UNRWA’s aid,” the Jerusalem Post noted.
An overnight Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah terror commander in southern Lebanon, the Israeli media reported Wednesday. According to the Israeli military’s statement, “an IAF aircraft struck and eliminated the terrorist Hussain Ibrahim Mekky in the area of Tyre, southern Lebanon.”
“Mekky was a senior field commander in the Hezbollah terrorist organization on the southern front, who was responsible for the planning and execution of numerous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and territory since the start of the war,” the IDF disclosed.
Emboldened by the Biden administration’s cutting off critical weapons supply to Israel, Hezbollah, in recent weeks, has escalated cross-border rocket attacks into Israel.
The slain terrorist was “responsible for various acts of terrorism” inside Israel, the statement added.
The Israel Hayom newspaper on Wednesday reported the IDF strike:
Israel has eliminated a senior Hezbollah field commander in southern Lebanon, the military announced Wednesday.Hussain Ibrahim Mekky was responsible for various acts of terrorism against the Israeli home front, the IDF said, adding that he previously served as the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the coastal region.Makki was targeted while driving near Tyre, according to the IDF.Over the past seven months, over 30 Hezbollah commanders have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, per military data. The latest strike occurred hours after a Hezbollah anti-tank missile hit a military post near the border, killing one civilian and wounding five soldiers.Since the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught, Hezbollah has been launching nearly-daily attacks on Israeli towns near the Lebanese border.
As the Rafah operation entered its second week, the Israeli ground forces were engaged in intensive door-to-door combat with Hamas terrorists dug in fortified positions inside buildings and terror tunnels.
“Over the past few days in the southern Gaza Strip, IDF troops have continued to operate in specific areas of eastern Rafah to eliminate terrorists and dismantle additional terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF revealed Wednesday. “In addition, IDF troops began a targeted operation on a Hamas training compound in the area, eliminating terrorists in close-quarters combat, and locating large amounts of weapons and equipment intended to simulate that of the IDF.”
The Israeli military is carrying out a sweeping operation to destroy Hamas terrorist fighters trying to regroup in northern Gaza in the wake of IDF’s Rafah offensive.
“IDF troops are continuing to intensify operations in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza,” the military said. “Over the past day, IDF troops in the area have engaged in intense battles with dozens of terrorist cells and eliminated a large number of terrorists. In one of the joint ground and aerial strikes in the area, the terrorist cell that fired toward the city of Sderot yesterday (Tuesday) was eliminated,”
Hamas’s bid to rear its head in northern Gaza comes as the terror group feels bolstered by President Biden’s halt on key weapons supply to Israel. “As IDF steamrolls its way into the most southern part of the enclave and is denied weapons shipments from the US, Hamas is retaking sections left unattended and using guerilla warfare to fight back,” the Israeli news website YNET commented last week.
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