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“Hamas intentionally positioned the command and control position within the vicinity of an active UNRWA location, jeopardizing the Gazan civilians taking refuge there,” the IDF said.
By: JNS.org
Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked a Hamas command and control center inside a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) complex in central Gaza on Saturday, the military said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, which provided intelligence for the strike along with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the Hamas center “served as central terrorist infrastructure” that was used as a staging ground for attacks on IDF troops in the central Strip in recent weeks.
The strike was “carefully planned and carried out using precise munition to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians,” the military emphasized.
Furthermore, the Hamas base was used to carry out attacks on efforts to increase the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians and Hamas oversaw the supply of weapons to dozens of Hamas terrorists from inside the command and control center, including terrorists operating in underground tunnels.
“Hamas intentionally positioned the command and control position within the vicinity of an active UNRWA location, jeopardizing the Gazan civilians taking refuge there,” the IDF said.
The strikes destroyed the operational capabilities of the Hamas command and control center at the UNRWA compound.
UNRWA refuses to evacuate from Rafah
Meanwhile, UNRWA said that it will not heed Israeli calls to evacuate parts of the Rafah in southernmost Gaza ahead of a planned military offensive against the last Hamas stronghold.
Juliette Touma, communications director for UNRWA, said that the agency has not evacuated the area and has no plans to do so.
On Sunday, four soldiers were killed and 10 others were wounded when Hamas terrorists fired 14 mortar shells from the Rafah area at Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.
The attack forced the closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing, a major entry point for humanitarian aid trucks in the Gaza Strip.
The military noted that “the launches were carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization near the Rafah Crossing, around 350 meters from civilian shelters. This is another clear example of the systematic exploitation by Hamas of humanitarian facilities and areas for terrorist purposes, while using the civilian population as a human shield.”
In other news, JNS also reported that the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog arrived in Tehran on Monday, where he is expected to speak at a conference and meet officials for talks on Iran’s nuclear expansion.
According to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi was scheduled to “participate in the nuclear conference and negotiate with top nuclear and political officials.”
Grossi was expected to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as well as Mohammad Eslami, head of the Islamic Republic’s Atomic Energy Organization.
Grossi’s visit comes on the background of heightened regional tensions in the wake of Iran‘s April 14 direct attack on Israel and with the IAEA criticizing Tehran for its lack of cooperation on inspections and other outstanding nuclear issues.
Grossi told German media last month that Iran was “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to build a bomb.
(JNS.org)
