(Israel Defense Forces) While being interrogated by the Israel Security Agency, Hamas terrorists confessed to using mosques and hospitals as hiding places during the Gaza war. They also admitted building tunnels, launching sites and weapons-storage facilities near playgrounds in Gaza. Abd Al-Rahman Ba'aloosha said Hamas operatives repeatedly met inside a bunker located underneath the Al-Abra mosque. Mohammed Ramadan recalled that Hamas commanders taught him to fire anti-tank missiles inside the Al-Shafi'i mosque in Khan Yunis. The mosque, he said, served as a training base for the Al-Qassam Brigades. On several occasions, Israeli forces documented rocket launches from inside mosques or nearby areas. While searching one mosque in Gaza, soldiers uncovered dozens of weapons and shafts leading into underground attack tunnels. One Hamas operative admitted that Nasser and Hilal hospitals in Khan Yunis were used to hide guns, RPGs and other weaponry. Afif and Ahmed Jarrah said Hamas built an attack tunnel just steps away from a playground in Beit Lahia. Nafez Shaluf, an operative from Rafia, said that operatives of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad frequently hid in Al-Najar Hospital in Rafah.
2014-09-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive