Watch: IDF forces capture Hamas' Eastern Outpost in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In a coordinated military operation, the IDF's 401st Brigade, alongside the elite Shaldag Unit and the Yahalom Combat Engineering Unit, successfully took control of Hamas' central intelligence and command center in Gaza City.
Read more:
The operation began with a surgical raid by the IDF's 401st Armored Brigade of the terrorist organization's so-called Eastern Outpost in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, comprising 37 buildings serving as a hub for operational command and control, strategically nestled among civilian sites, including schools and hospitals.
Eastern Outpost underground bunker
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In their advance, Israeli forces uncovered a 65-foot-deep underground bunker featuring extensive operational rooms and shelters which served as a wartime command center for Hamas leaders. Further investigation of the vicinity uncovered a significant cache of weapons and communication equipment.
The 401st Brigade's Shaked Battalion discovered five interconnected tunnel shafts at the Eastern Outpost, forming a vast network leading to an underground command node. Shaldag troops engaged in fierce underground combat and neutralized several terrorists. Meanwhile, the 601st Battalion and Yahalom engineering forces successfully demolished the tunnel network.
During a raid on a school, Shaldag troops uncovered various hidden weapons in one of the classrooms, including AK-47 rifles with magazines, anti-tank missiles and a hand grenade disguised among Lego pieces. Additionally, they discovered a suitcase containing a vest marked "Al-Qassam Brigades," the military wing of Hamas, packed with additional magazines.
"The school contained an insane amount of weaponry. It was hiding 5,000 people, and we identified and arrested 40 of them as terrorists," said 401st Brigade Commander Lt. Col. Beni Aharon.
As the operation progressed, 52nd Battalion forces clashed with terrorists on the top floors of one of the buildings in the Eastern Outpost complex. Despite taking several casualties, troops overcame the enemy forces through close-quarters combat.
The operation, while successful in its objectives, bore a heavy cost. Captain Yaron Eliezer Chitiz, Staff Sergeant Efraim Tachman, and Staff Sergeant Itay Buton were killed in action.