IDF troops found beneath the innocuous veneer of children's bedrooms, a hidden network of underground infrastructure and weapons. In a senior Hamas official's home, the presumably safe haven for his children had been transformed into a storage of dangerous arsenal.
Read more:
The forces engaged in a fierce showdown in a region that served as the launch pad for a barrage of rockets aimed at Israeli territory, and unearthed four tunnel shafts burrowed deep beneath the surface, equipped with their own electrical grid, which served as the arteries of Hamas's underground operations.
401st Brigade inside Gaza
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
One such tunnel opened up from within a building owned by a senior Hamas official, underscoring the nature of Hamas's operations, even within the heart of conflict-ridden areas.
"We've uncovered long-range rockets, launch shafts, and four operational shafts of Hamas. We have penetrated the 'deep heart' of the Hamas structure," Colonel Benny Aharon, commander of the force said.
"We discovered the operational base of one of the most prominent terrorists, full of combat gear and weapons, disturbingly hidden even under his children's beds and inside wardrobes. We have unveiled the very area from which rockets were launched deep into Israeli territory for years."