(IDF Spokesperson) IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari - On Sunday night, we eliminated senior Hamas terrorists in a targeted strike on a compound used by Hamas in Rafah. These terrorists, responsible for orchestrating and executing terror attacks against Israelis, were meeting inside a specific closed structure away from the tent area. Their deaths saved lives. Sadly, following the strike, due to unforeseen circumstances, a fire ignited, taking the lives of Gazan civilians nearby. As you can see from aerial photos, there are no tents in the immediate vicinity of the structure that we targeted. Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size. We are looking into the option that weapons stored in a compound next to our target, which we did not know of, may have ignited as a result of the strike. Hamas has been operating from this area since Oct. 7. This satellite image shows that 43 meters from the structure we targeted, you can see Hamas rocket launchers. Hamas fired rockets from these launchers at Israel during their massacre on Oct. 7. Footage documented by Gazans on the night of the strike, posted on social media, appeared to show secondary explosions, indicating that there may have been weapons in the area. Our signal intelligence intercepted phone calls that raise the possibility that weapons stored in a nearby compound caught fire. As the Hamas terrorists sat in a meeting, the Palestinian speaker said, "they had ammunition, because all of the ammunition that started exploding. Bags of money were flying in the air. Yes, this is an ammunition warehouse. I tell you it exploded. I mean the Jewish bombing wasn't strong. It was a small missile, because it didn't create a large hole. And afterwards a lot of secondary explosions."
2024-05-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive