The IAF on Monday night, with the direction of IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) intelligence, struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command and control center embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis.
The terrorists advanced and carried out terror attacks against IDF troops and the state of Israel, said the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional means, the statement said.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to systematically abuse civilian and humanitarian infrastructure, including the designated Humanitarian Area, to carry out terrorist activity against the State of Israel and IDF troops,” the IDF stated.
Hamas claimed that 40 people were killed in the attack and that 60 more were injured. According to officials in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 tents in the compound that was attacked caught fire.
On Monday, the soldiers of the 16th Reserve Brigade, under the command of the 252nd Division, operated as part of the brigade-level operation in the Zeitoun area in the central Gaza Strip.
The troops raided terror targets where terrorists had embedded themselves, eliminated dozens of terrorists and dismantled numerous terrorist infrastructure.
During scans in the area, a machine used to produce weapons and an operational tunnel shaft used by the terrorists in the area were discovered.
“The soldiers of the 16th Brigade are operating in the Gaza Strip for the second time since the beginning of the war. The reserve soldiers play a crucial and indispensable role in the war, in the defense of Israel's citizens, and in ensuring the security of the state,” said the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.