Hamas Weapons in Mosques: IDF Strikes Gaza Storage Sites

Israeli Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service destroyed five weapons storage facilities and a rocket launch site belonging to Hamas in a series of targeted strikes across the Gaza Strip yesterday.

According to a joint statement from the IDF and Shin Bet, the targeted warehouses contained rockets, firearms, explosives, grenades, and additional combat equipment that Hamas operatives had been using to advance terrorist operations against Israeli forces in Gaza.

The strikes are part of ongoing security operations to eliminate terrorist threats from the Gaza Strip. IDF forces under Southern Command remain deployed throughout the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue working to remove any immediate threats, military officials stated.

The weapons caches were deliberately positioned inside mosques and adjacent to humanitarian infrastructure throughout Gaza. Israeli officials described this as another example of Hamas's cynical exploitation of civilian facilities, including religious sites and humanitarian installations, in violation of international law and at the expense of the civilian population.

In recent days, the IDF and Shin Bet struck two additional weapons depots in the Jabaliya and Deir al-Balah areas of Gaza. Those facilities, also housed within mosques in northern Gaza, contained dozens of Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition magazines, and other military equipment. Prior to the strikes, advance warnings were issued to the local population to minimize the risk of civilian casualties, in addition to the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.