From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
IDF captures Hamas stronghold in heart of residential neighborhood in Gaza City
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says troops recently captured a Hamas stronghold in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, with special forces battling terror operatives inside tunnel networks beneath the site.
Hamas’s so-called Eastern Outpost is made up of 37 buildings “in the heart of the civilian population,” surrounded by residential buildings, a school, and a hospital, with a mosque in the complex used as a meeting point for Hamas operatives, according to the IDF.
It says the “strategic” stronghold was used by Hamas’s intelligence division and other units of the terror group to “manage the fighting in the entire Gaza Strip.”
The 401st Armored Brigade raided the stronghold’s main building, locating a 20-meter deep bunker used by Hamas as a command center, the IDF says.
It says the bunker had resting areas for Hamas commanders to remain hidden for long periods. Troops also found weapons and other equipment inside the underground hideout.
In other areas of the stronghold, the IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion located five tunnel shafts, each dozens of meters deep, which all connect via an underground network. The IDF says the tunnel network also connects to the main underground bunker.
Forces of the Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit entered one of the tunnels and battled Hamas gunmen underground, the IDF says, adding that “at the end of the fighting, all the terrorists were eliminated.”
The tunnel network was later destroyed by the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion and elite Yahalom unit.
The IDF says troops recently captured a Hamas stronghold in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, with special forces battling terror operatives inside tunnel networks beneath the site.
Hamas’s so-called Eastern Outpost is made up of 37 buildings “in the heart of the civilian… pic.twitter.com/yOZrPYI75V
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 2, 2024
Also during the operation, troops of the 401st Brigade’s 52nd Battalion raided another building in the Eastern Outpost, where they encountered Hamas gunmen opening fire at them from the upper floor, the IDF says.
The IDF says the troops engaged the Hamas operatives while working to evacuate wounded soldiers under fire. The gun battle then expanded to other areas of the stronghold.
All the Hamas operatives were killed in the battle, according to the IDF, along with three Israeli soldiers of the Shaked Battalion: Lt. Yaron Eliezer Chitiz, Staff Sgt. Itay Buton, and Staff Sgt. Efraim Jackman.
