Israel raided Hamas terrorists’ luxury homes and parliament and police headquarters in Gaza City on Sunday, taking control of the sites and uncovering a slew of weapons and tunnel entrances below them.
Israeli paratroopers and armored units descended on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal, executing a series of rocket launches and raids in the heart of Gaza City, where Hamas has maintained power since 2007.
Much of the once-affluent area was already leveled by Israeli air strikes since the war began last month, but the Israel Defense Forces said it still encountered several Hamas operatives in Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal and killed them while also raiding some wealthy terrorist homes.
The IDF said it found 35 tunnel shafts in the area leading to Hamas’ 300-mile underground network, along with dozens of weapon stashes, The Jerusalem Post reported.
In addition, the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade and Golani Infantry Brigade successfully took control of Hamas’ parliament building, its entire government complex and its police headquarters, The Times of Israel said.
IDF soldiers advance in Gaza City’s Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal neighborhoods Sunday.X/@manniefabian
Israeli soldiers found heavy weaponry in the once-affluent areas that housed Hamas’ leadership.X/@manniefabian
The IDF captured a Gazan university faculty building, too, that allegedly served to produce and develop weapons for the terrorist group.
A Hamas training base, command center, interrogation rooms and detention cells were commandeered as well by the advancing Israeli army.
Hamas officials have yet to comment on the fighting in Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal, as rolling communications blackouts have become the norm in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers also captured Hamas’ government facilities and headquarters. X/@manniefabian
Much of the heart of Hamas’ government complex has been leveled since the war began.X/@manniefabian
Sunday’s assaults are the latest in the IDF’s advancements in northern Gaza as it seeks to eradicate Hamas after the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians.
More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed since war broke out, according to the Hamas-linked Gaza’s Health Ministry, with at least 11 more killed on Sunday after an Israeli airstrike hit a home in Jabalia.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that two schools were hit by airstrikes in less than 24 hours in Gaza, killing many women and children.
Here is the inside of a weapons hold uncovered in Rimal.X/@manniefabian
Sunday’s assault saw Israeli soldiers conduct rocket launches that killed several Hamas gunmen.X/@manniefabian
“Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are seeking shelter at United Nations facilities throughout Gaza due to the intensified fighting,” Guterres said in a statement. “I reaffirm that our premises are inviolable.”
The secretary-general’s statement came as Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said shelters in Gaza cannot afford to become “collateral damage” in the Israel-Hamas war.
“Most of the facilities hit had families in them – including older people, parents, and children,” Lazzarini said in a statement. “They were all clearly marked as UN buildings carrying a blue flag.
“Once again, shelters meant to provide safety and protection to civilians have been hit, killing many people, including children,” he said. “These acts not only blatantly contravene the rules of war, they also show a total disregard for humanity.”
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