IDF says it hit Hamas rocket launcher near shelter in Gaza humanitarian zone, civilians were warned ahead of strike

An airstrike was carried out yesterday against a Hamas rocket launcher positioned within the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, the military says.

According to the IDF, the rocket launcher was located in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, adjacent to a shelter for displaced Palestinian civilians.

Before carrying out the drone strike, the military says it carried out “many efforts” to mitigate harm to civilians, including warning civilians in the area ahead of time.

Meanwhile, fighting continued in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, where the IDF says troops with the 98th Division battled several cells of gunmen over the past day, as well as located and destroyed weapons and infrastructure.

In one incident in Shejaiya, the military says soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade spotted a Hamas cell attempting to ambush them. By the end of an exchange of fire, all of the Hamas operatives were killed and no troops were wounded, according to the IDF.

In another incident in Gaza City, an airstrike was carried out against a three-man cell armed with RPGs that had been identified by the paratroopers, the military says.

In southern Gaza’s Rafah, troops with the 162nd DIvision continued to battle gunmen, destroy Hamas targets — including tunnels — and locate weapons over the past day, the IDF adds.