The IAF on Monday night, based on intelligence and using precise munition, struck several terrorists who were conducting terrorist activities, using the structures of a school in the area of Nuseirat in the Gaza Strip as cover.
“The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations systematically violate international law, exploiting civilian structures and population as human shields for terror attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement, stressing that precise munitions were used in order to prevent harm to innocent civilians as much as possible.
The statement followed reports in Gaza which claimed several people had been killed and injured in an IDF attack inside the compound of an UNRWA elementary school in Nuseirat.
On Sunday, the IAF struck a complex inside of which terrorists were operating and hiding near a school building in Gaza City.
Simultaneously, the IDF struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility embedded by the terrorist organization in the area of the school.
Before the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
"The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law, exploiting civilian structures and populations as human shields for its terror attacks against the State of Israel," the IDF said.
On Sunday night, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) began a counterterrorism operation in the area of Gaza City, including in UNRWA headquarters.
The operation began following intelligence indicating the presence of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure, operatives, weapons, and investigation and detention rooms in the area of Gaza City.
IDF soldiers have operated in the area in the past in order to eliminate terrorists and destroy an underground tunnel route below the compound.
With the start of the operation, the IDF called on and warned civilians about the operational activity in the area, and a defined route will be opened to facilitate the evacuation of uninvolved civilians from the area.
"The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations continue to systematically operate and carry out terrorist activity from inside civilian infrastructure," the IDF stressed. "The IDF will continue to operate against the terrorist organizations in accordance with international law."