IDF foils Hamas Shejaia ambush, stops terrorists from reestablishing foothold in area

The IDF continued to push forward in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaia over the past day, succeeding in eliminating numerous terrorists, terror infrastructure, and weaponry, the IDF stated on Saturday morning.

In one incident in the north Gazan neighborhood, combat team troops from the 7th Brigade and the Paratroopers Brigade, operating under the command of the 98th Division, battled terrorists who had attempted to ambush and fire upon the troops, the IDF added.

By the end of the engagement, Israeli forces reportedly successfully eliminated all of the terrorists without sustaining any casualties.

During other operational activities in the area, engaging other armed squads of terrorist fighters and destroying weapons and infrastructure both above and below ground.

In another incident, an Israeli air strike killed three terrorists armed with RPGs.

Separately, in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, several terror squads were eliminated, including one cell which, after firing at troops in the area, was targeted by airstrike.

The IDF also reported locating and destroying several subterranean terror structures and confiscating military equipment and weapons in the vicinity.

Rocket launcher embedded in humanitarian area

In the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al Balah, Hamas terrorists embedded a rocket launcher in a humanitarian area, the IDF added.

The launcher was reportedly located near civilian shelters. 

The IDF noted that it subsequently took numerous measures to ensure that its precise strike on the launcher would have minimum impact on civilians in the area.

The military noted that among these measures was a pre-warning given to the civilians in the area and operating according to real-time intelligence.

Attempt to reestablish a foothold in Shejaia stopped

Later, the IDF added details on what its personnel had found in the Shejaia area.

The military noted that it had found subterranean tunnel shafts that contained weapons, including long-range rockets. The IDF theorized that this indicated an attempt on behalf of terrorists in the area to reestablish a base there.

The IDF also reported that it had uncovered and destroyed buried charges in the area.

Speaking on the military's discoveries, 890th Battalion commander Major Omer said, "We found a lot of enemy infrastructure here: anti-tank missiles, long-range missiles that can reach the center (of Israel) as well, [and] various types of mortars that fire on the border areas, and we have neutralized this threat."

The IDF's discovery of terrorists' attempt to reestablish a base in Shejaiai comes as it continues operational activity of its reinvasion of the area, where it first established operational control in January of this year.

Last week, the IDF reported that in its reinvasion of the neighborhood, it managed to operate more completely in the area and penetrated more of the Hamas tunnel network there.