Israeli military says it destroyed Hamas weapons depot inside Gaza mosque

The Israeli military said it had carried out strikes on Hamas weapons depots in the Gaza Strip, including one it said was located inside a mosque, and separately announced the destruction of an underground Hezbollah command centre in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck and destroyed several Hamas weapons storage sites in central and northern Gaza, Caliber.Az reports.

“The IDF struck and destroyed several Hamas weapons depots in the central and northern parts of the Gaza Strip. One of the weapons depots in the northern part of the Gaza Strip was located inside a mosque,” the military said.

The IDF said the strike illustrated what it described as Hamas' use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.

“This is yet another example of how organisations in the Gaza Strip exploit civilian infrastructure for entirely different purposes, storing weapons in the midst of civilian residential areas, including religious institutions,” the statement said.

The military added that advance warnings had been issued to civilians before the strikes in an effort to reduce the risk of civilian casualties.

According to the IDF, the weapons stored at the sites were intended for use in attacks against Israeli forces operating in Gaza as well as Israeli civilians.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said it had destroyed an underground Hezbollah command centre in southern Lebanon. The IDF said the tunnel, measuring approximately 55 meters in length, was used as a command post and that dozens of weapons were found in an underground room connected to the tunnel.

By Sabina Mammadli