IDF claims capturing major Hamas stronghold in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on November 8 it has secured a key stronghold of Palestinian militant group Hamas after a 10-hour battle in northern Gaza.

Fighters of the Nahal Brigade captured “Outpost 17,” a military stronghold of Hamas in western Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF said in a statement, reports Al Arabiya.

During the takeover of the outpost, Israeli fighters waged a battle against Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were in the outpost, both “above ground and in an underground route in the area.”

The IDF said it completed the takeover of the outpost after 10 hours of fighting, during which they eliminated Hamas and Islamic Jihad combatants, captured many weapons, and uncovered tunnel shafts – including a shaft adjacent to a kindergarten and leading to an extensive underground route.

“During the takeover of the outpost, Nahal soldiers located and collected “significant” Hamas battle schemes and operational plans,” the IDF added.

A day earlier, the IDF said: “Combat engineers fighting in Gaza are destroying the enemy's weapons and are locating, exposing and detonating tunnel shafts. With the expansion of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the soldiers are thwarting Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure.”

It added: “As part of the ground forces' activity in the Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers are currently working to expose and destroy Hamas’ tunnels. Since the beginning of the fighting, 130 tunnel shafts have been destroyed.”