The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced early Monday that its air force targeted a Hamas command centre in Gaza’s Deir al Balah region. According to the IDF, the facility was located within the Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital, in central Gaza.
This strike follows earlier attacks on Hamas command centres in the same area, which had been situated in a former school and a former mosque, according to the Israeli military.
The IDF emphasized that multiple precautions were taken to minimize harm to civilians during this “precise” operation. The military accused Hamas of using the command centres to coordinate terrorist attacks against Israeli forces and the state of Israel.
The IDF also condemned what it described as Hamas’s ongoing misuse of civilian infrastructure, which it said violates international law.
The conflict, which began a year ago when Hamas and other fighters invaded Israel, has led to the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, with 250 taken hostage during the initial invasion. Israel’s retaliatory strikes have since caused significant casualties, with the Hamas-run health ministry reporting over 41,800 deaths in Gaza.
Hamas does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its casualty reports.
