IDF: Hamas Turned a Civilian Structure in Gaza Into a Rocket Launch Site Ready to Fire Rockets at Israel

Hamas Turned a Civilian Structure in Gaza Into a Rocket Launch Site Ready to Fire Rockets at Israel

On May 18, 2021, the ninth day of Operation Guardian of the Walls, we operated to strike a concealed rocket launcher in a civilian structure in Gaza. Out of concern for the safety of non-combatants, we warned civilians in the building and in surrounding buildings about the strike, giving them enough time to evacuate before we struck the rocket launcher. IDF

Operation Guardian of the Walls

The beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls was marked by barrages of rockets fired toward Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, by terror organizations in the Gaza Strip on May 10, 2021, at 6:03 pm. Over the course of the next 12 days, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), two terror organizations within the Gaza Strip, fired almost 4,400 rockets at Israel. Approximately 680 of these rockets misfired and fell within the Gaza Strip, causing Palestinian casualties. 

These rockets were fired indiscriminately at Israeli civilians. Israel made great efforts to protect its civilians via a combination of bomb shelters and the deployment of the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System, which successfully intercepted 90% of the rockets fired at its civilians.

In response to Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians, the IDF struck over 1,500 terror targets, including launch sites, command and control centers, and weapons storage sites. Among these targets, the IDF struck many kilometers of Hamas’ extensive tunnel system. This tunnel network enabled military training, mobility, storage of weaponry, the capacity to carry out and manage military operations without exposing terror organizations operatives. The IDF also neutralized hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives. Overall, we succeeded in our mission to defend Israel, fight terror, and ensure the security of Israeli civilians.