Day 268: IDF dismantles terror infrastructure in Shejaiya and Rafah, including inside UN schools

Israel Defense Forces are continuing operations in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. 

The 7th Brigade combat team, including soldiers of the 7th Brigade, the Givati Brigade and the Paratroopers Brigade, have been leading the 98th Division’s operation in the ​​Shejaiya area over the past few days after IDF forces unexpectedly returned to Shejaiya on Thursday. 

Over the weekend, IDF soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and with aerial fire support, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office announced on Sunday, reporting that more than 40 terrorists were killed while fighting in the Gaza City suburb during a targeted raid. 

While searching civilian structures suspected of being converted into terrorist infrastructure, the soldiers raided a UN school that terrorists of the Shejaiya Battalion were using as a hideout and a warehouse. The troops discovered dozens of weapons, grenades, as well as valuable intelligence documents. 

In addition, the soldiers uncovered a terrorist war room inside a medical clinic, which contained communications devices, enemy documents and observation devices. 

The IDF stated: “This is further evidence of Hamas embedding itself in civilian structures for terror purposes.” 

While the Israeli military reported killing dozens of terrorists during fighting in Shejaiya, at the end of last week, it also said the operation there has been focused on dismantling terror infrastructure which it did not finish destroying in previous maneuvers there. 

Soldiers operating in Shejaiya discovered observation posts, weapons, enemy drones, and a long-range rocket launcher near schools. A “large number of terrorists” were killed within a school compound, which also housed a weapons storage facility, the IDF announced on Saturday. 

The IDF reportedly destroyed multiple tunnels and tunnel shafts in the neighborhood, some of which had been “booby-trapped.” Some of the tunnels were discovered via intelligence seized in recent operations in Gaza and were not known during previous operations in the neighborhood.

The military reported evidence that Hamas had begun recruiting new members since returning to the neighborhood, attempting to re-establish itself there. The IDF estimates that the operation in Shejaiya could last “weeks” as it aims to destroy the remaining Hamas forces and infrastructure.

On Sunday morning, the IDF announced the death of two soldiers killed in fighting in Shejaiya over the past couple of days, Staff Sgt. Yair Avitan and Sgt. First Class Yakir Shmuel Tatelbaum, bringing the death toll of the Gaza ground operation up to 313. 

The IDF has been continuing operations in the southern town of Rafah, aimed at dismantling Hamas infrastructure. The Israeli military released images of a tunnel shaft with an entrance allegedly within a UNRWA school compound in Rafah.

The tunnel and shaft were destroyed by troops from the Yahalom combat engineering corps. According to the IDF, the tunnel and its branches were approximately 500 meters in length (over a quarter mile).

IDF troops will continue to explore the extent of the tunnels reaching into Egypt, which the military said could take months. Troops also located and destroyed at least nine rocket launchers in southern Rafah. 

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of over 1,000 terrorists during combat in Rafah since operations began, indicating that it knows the names of those eliminated. There could be other unconfirmed kills, according to the Israeli military.