IDF conducts precision strike on Hamas command center embedded in Gaza's Al Farouq Mosque
The Farouq Mosque has been used as a Hamas staging ground before; in the 2014 Gaza War, when it was also destroyed.
The IDF struck a Hamas command and control center embedded in the Al Farouq Mosque in the area of Bureij in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the IDF announced.
Al Farouq Mosque was destroyed by an IDF strike in March, according to the Turkish state-owned TRT.
Hamas had reportedly been using the former mosque to stage terror attacks against IDF troops and Israel.
The IDF said that before the strike, which was conducted on intelligence from the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.
A perennial base
The Farouq Mosque has been used as a Hamas staging ground before, in the 2014 Gaza War, when it was also destroyed, according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
The MAITIC is a research center on terrorism in Israel.
MAITIC reported that the mosque was destroyed due to its use as a base for Hamas operations as well as a weapons cache.
"Hamas and other terrorist organizations systematically use many mosques in the Gaza Strip for military and political purposes. Mosques in the Gaza Strip are used not only for worship but also for diverse military and political purposes," MAITIC noted.
It also specified that this is permitted under the form of Islam followed by Hamas.
"Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Hamas’s main religious role model, [permits] the use of mosques for military purposes as part of jihad (holy war) is legitimate," the Center stated.
MAITIC also claimed that the mosque was being used as a base for training child soldiers, with Hamas holding summer camps for children and teenagers who "underwent semi-military training at schools and mosques."
"The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law and operates from within civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip while exploiting the Gazan civilian population for its terrorist activities," the IDF added in its Tuesday statement.
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