Israel-Hamas War: IDF discovers terror lab, tunnel shafts, anti-tank launch sites in Gaza's high-rise district

In a raid on a central Gaza neighbourhood’s high-rise district, the IDF discovered other tunnel shafts, a chemical lab for weapon production, and anti-tank launch sites, as announced by the Israeli military on Friday. The operation, led by the 646th Brigade in collaboration with the Yahalom special engineering unit, targeted high-rise buildings reportedly used by Hamas as launch sites against Israeli tanks and fighter jets. The weaponry seized included sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, AK-47 assault rifles, and pistols. Additionally, a chemical laboratory used by Hamas terrorists for weapon production was found during the operation. Meanwhile, six people were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into Rafah, one of the areas where Israel has told people to seek refuge. But Israeli forces continue to strike all parts of the besieged territory. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says several thousand Hamas fighters remain in northern Gaza, where entire neighbourhoods have been blasted into rubble. Heavy fighting is also underway in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli officials say Hamas’ military structure is still largely intact. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 250 others were taken hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. With inputs from agencies.