The IDF announced on Monday that it found in a massive tunnel area in central Gaza some components of rockets which, if assembled, could have a range of more than 100 kilometers – well north of Tel Aviv. In the Bureij area of central Gaza, where Hamas put up stronger resistance than in other parts of the Strip, the IDF found the largest lathe and weapons manufacturing site so far in Gaza.
Idan Amedi, one of the stars of Fauda and a popular singer, was wounded on Monday in Gaza, his family announced. Amedi went to fight in Gaza as a reservist in the early days of the war. Documenting moments from his service on his Instagram account, in a post from November, he said: “This is not a scene from Fauda, this is real life,” in a video recorded ahead of an operation, adding that he and his fellow soldiers were motivated by their concern for the victims of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Following IDF intelligence, the 188 and Golani Brigades uncovered tunnel shafts that led downwards around 30 meters.
In the area, they found swaths of rockets, rocket-making stations, drones, improvised explosives, other weaponry, surveillance centers, and other command center stations.
To reach the area, IDF forces killed dozens of Hamas terrorists.
The 188th Brigade took over the main command station of el-Bureij, including the surveillance station, while the Golani Brigade found the large lathe and manufacturing area, which was connected to many tunnels to make it easier to smuggle the weapons to other parts of the enclave unseen by IDF surveillance above ground.
By taking over the area, the IDF said it has severely hampered any Hamas ability to rearm, and has prevented a variety of potential attacks.
IDF finds proof of Iran involvement in Hamas training
The announcement came just one day after the IDF announced that military intelligence obtained evidence of Iranian involvement in training Hamas to manufacture and fire precision rockets and other strategic weapons.
There was a direct connection between the timing of the announcement and the IDF’s penetration and control of a large strategic tunnel in the Daraj-Tuffah area of northern Gaza in recent days.
As part of the operation, the IDF brought in experts to analyze the long-range and precision rockets, including potential cruise missiles, and other items it found there.
The IDF declined to specify exactly what signs there were of Iranian training and guidance in the manufacture and firing of the weapons, but in the past, some weapons have had Iranian signs or Persian words on them. In other instances, guidebooks or messages recovered from electronic devices were connected to the Islamic Republic.
Though Hamas is an independent entity, Israeli intelligence has said for years that it did not think the terror group could pull off the kind of attack it went on to perpetrate on October 7 or reach the level of its current fighting prowess without general funding, logistics support, and training from Tehran.
However, such statements are often made in a general manner, and Sunday’s findings were more direct evidence than usual of the ayatollahs’ involvement.
Despite all of these achievements, Hamas managed to fire several rockets Monday afternoon at central Israel and the Tel Aviv area, setting off rocket sirens all over the country in areas that had been siren-free for over a week.
The IDF still has not encroached much on Hamas’s rocket firing capabilities in Rafah in deep southern Gaza, and the terror group has still managed to fire small salvos of rockets from northern or central Gaza.
Also on Monday, the IDF announced that interrogations by its secret Unit 504 revealed that Gazan civilians had told them that Hamas killed a Palestinian civilian because he tried to get food from UNRWA. There were many additional stories of Hamas cruelty in a desperate bid to maintain control over the population.
Separately, Islamic Jihad released a video on Monday of 47-year-old Elad Katzir, who was kidnapped from Nir Oz on October 7.
Katzir, clearly tutored on what to say by his captors, demanded an end to the war, and in monotones recited words that effectively lashed out at the government for not doing more to bring him home.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told The Wall Street Journal that Hamas did not initially take the IDF seriously or believe that it would carry out a deep and sustained invasion in Gaza.