The complex, known as Al Qadsia, was the main base of the Khan Younis brigade, one of the most powerful of the armed wing of Hamas.
The Israeli Army took over the headquarters of the Khan Younis Brigade of Hamas on Sunday, where a training center and the offices of its commander Mohamed Sinwar, brother of Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip, were located, as confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The complex, known as Al Qadsia, was the main base of that brigade, one of the most powerful of the armed wing of Hamas, and members of the group for the October 7 attacks in Israel, the Army reported today.
Since the beginning of December, Israeli troops have concentrated their offensive in the enclave in Khan Younis, the main city of the Strip and a stronghold of Hamas in the south, and where they believe that Yahya Sinwar is hiding.
“Upon entering the area, the forces identified that the complex had explosive traps belonging to Hamas members, even camouflaged within the walls, which were neutralized by engineering forces,” a military statement indicated.
The Army explained that Hamas members who were entrenched near the site opened fire on the soldiers, and were “neutralized by snipers, tanks and the Israeli air force.”
In the complex they found “large training areas,” where they found models that simulated the entrances to Israeli kibbutzim, military bases and armored vehicles of the Israel Defense Forces.
On October 7, more than 3,000 Hamas members carried out an armed raid against dozens of communities in southern Israel, most of them kibbutz, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250.
The war declared by Israel on Hamas that same day has claimed the lives, in the Strip, of more than 27,300 Gazans and injured more than 66,600, according to medical sources under the control of the group.
“The soldiers also broke into the central war room of the Khan Younis Brigade and in the offices of his superior officers. The base contained rocket storage facilities and tunnel mouths that led to underground routes used by the group Hamas,” the Army stressed.
The Army said it had found a weapons factory and an extensive arsenal that included anti-tank missiles, machine guns, RPGs, explosives, grenades and ammunition.
“The Givati Brigade combat team assaulted the emblematic position and training center used by the Khan Younis Brigade and destroyed them. It is a very important complex where many weapons were found.
“We are operating in the west of the city with great success, expelling the members from their hideouts,” said the commander of the Givati brigade of the Israeli Army, Liron Bitito, who carried out the operation.
The Israeli Army also reported this Sunday that Soldiers of the Parachute Brigade have intensified fighting in recent days in the Al Amal area, in western Khan Younis, where Israel alleges that Hamas militants are hiding, and that they have found weapons, entrances to underground tunnels, observation posts and weapons factories.
They also found a building, “key to Hamas’s financial infrastructure,” with safes and a cover currency exchange office of the group, where more than 3 million shekels (750,000 euros) were stored, as well as intelligence documents.
As forces advanced into the area, there were several incidents in which cells attempted to shoot and plant explosives near soldiers. “The soldiers eliminated the members in close-range combat, as well as with snipers, the help of mortar fire and air force attacks,” said a military statement.
They also found a building, “key to Hamas’s financial infrastructure,” with safes and a cover currency exchange office of the group, where more than 3 million shekels (750,000 euros) were stored, as well as intelligence documents.
