From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Largest underground weapons production site found to date in south Gaza — IDF
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says it has located a major Hamas tunnel network in the Khan Younis area, featuring the largest underground weapons production site found to date in southern Gaza.
Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade and elite Yahalom combat engineering team operated in what the IDF says is a “strategic and central” Hamas stronghold in Khan Younis, in a residential area and near two schools.
As troops raided the area, the IDF says Hamas operatives opened fire and launched RPGs, as well as detonated the entrances to several tunnels in the area, in a bid to prevent troops from entering.
The IDF says it waged several battles against “many” Hamas gunmen in the area, killing them in close-quarters combat, machine gun fire, tank shelling and airstrikes.
The 7th Brigade and Yahalom soldiers located several tunnel entrances in the area, which the IDF says led to a tunnel network some 1.5 kilometers in length, where Hamas hid an underground rocket manufacturing plant, the largest in southern Gaza.
After being investigated, the tunnel shaft was destroyed by the combat engineers.
