IDF says strikes in Gaza targeted dozens of construction vehicles used by Hamas in Oct. 7 assault

Some 40 construction vehicles in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF says were used by Hamas for terror activities, were destroyed in airstrikes overnight and this morning.

In a statement, the military says that the heavy equipment was used by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, onslaught to breach the Israeli border barrier in dozens of locations, allowing thousands of terrorists to stream into Israel.

The earthmovers have also been used by Hamas during the war to plant bombs, dig tunnels, and clear rubble to locate weaponry buried under it, the IDF says.

This image released by the IDF on April 22, 2025, shows engineering vehicles that Israel claims are used by Hamas, before they were targeted in airstrikes. (Israel Defense Forces)

“The engineering vehicles that were struck are a major component of Hamas’s ability to carry out terror attacks on IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the statement says.

The IDF says the strike was carried out to “disrupt” Hamas’s heavy equipment capability.

Hamas denounces the strikes, saying in a statement that “the occupation’s destruction of civilian equipment intended to aid and rescue civilians and alleviate their suffering… is a confirmation of the criminal nature of this entity, which is devoid of all moral standards.”