Israeli aircraft destroyed a Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad weapons factory embedded in a humanitarian zone in the central Gaza area of Deir al-Balah, the Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday.
“The Hamas terrorist organization continues to systematically abuse civilian and humanitarian infrastructure, including the designated Humanitarian Area, for their military activities,” the IDF said.
To mitigate the risk of harming civilians, the Air Force used precise munitions, while surveillance monitored the area during Tuesday’s strike.
Meanwhile, soldiers in the area of Rafah in southern Gaza dismantled several terror infrastructure sites and eliminated terrorists.
Other terrorists were killed in central Gaza in close-quarters combat.
On Wednesday morning, Israel called on Palestinians in Beit Hanoun to evacuate following rocket attacks on Sderot and Ashkelon from the northern Gaza town.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Force’s Arabic-language spokesman, tweeted a list of zones to be evacuated, instructing residents to take shelter in Gaza City. The army has assessed that fewer than 200,000 Palestinian civilians are currently in northern Gaza.
“Hamas and terrorist organizations are firing rockets from your area towards the State of Israel. The IDF will act forcefully and immediately against them,” Adraee tweeted.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired three rockets from northern Gaza at Ashkelon and Sderot on Tuesday. One was shot down and the other two landed in open areas. No casualties or damage were caused.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 111 remaining hostages, 39 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
