Two civilians were killed and others wounded after rockets fired by Hamas at Israeli territory from the Khan Younis humanitarian zone on Wednesday night fell short, hitting the area of the UNRWA 'Al-Qarara' school in Khan Younis, the IDF said on Thursday.
"Following the failed shooting, a number of injuries were detected in the area of the school and reports were received from representatives of international aid organizations about the death of two civilians and a number of other injured civilians," the army stated.
Need more proof that Hamas prioritizes killing Israelis over caring for Gazans?
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 25, 2024
This morning, Hamas launched several rockets toward Israel from a humanitarian area in Khan Yunis that actually ended up hitting the@UNRWA 'Al-Qarara' school.
Following the failed launches landing… pic.twitter.com/T0BSp9XBPg
"In light of this, and in coordination with the Coordination and Liaison Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces and the World Health Organization (WHO), the injured civilians were referred for primary care at the International Medical Corps (IMC) field hospital that was established during the fighting in the Deir al-Balah region," the IDF continued.
"The terrorist organization Hamas regularly violates international law, while systematically exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terrorist actions against the State of Israel," the army added.
IDF finds tunnel shaft, weapons in child's bedroom in Rafah
Israeli forces located a tunnel shaft, weapons and night vision equipment in a children's bedroom during operations in the Tel al-Sultan and Shabura areas of Rafah in southern Gaza, the IDF said on Wednesday.
Israeli forces are continuing to press the offensive in the former Hamas strongholds of Rafah and Khan Younis, as well as in the central Strip.
Footage of the tunnel shaft and weapons located in the children’s bedroom by the 932nd Battalion. Credit: IDF.
In his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the Rafah operation's low civilian casualty rate.
"Despite all the lies you’ve heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare. And you want to know where it’s lowest in Gaza? It’s lowest in Rafah. In Rafah," the premier said.
"You want to know why? Because Israel got the civilians out of harm’s way, something people said we could never do, but we did it," he added.
Dozens of terrorists killed, 50 terror sites destroyed in Khan Younis
In Khan Younis in recent days, Israeli forces killed dozens of terrorists and dismantled 50 terrorist infrastructure sites.
The IDF's decision to re-enter Khan Younis was driven by new intelligence on the existence of undiscovered Hamas tunnels in the area, an uptick in rocket attacks from the city and attempts by the terrorist group to reorganize there.
The IDF informed Gaza residents on Monday that it was about to enter the city, and called on the remaining population of eastern Khan Yunis to move to the newly adjusted humanitarian zone, using text messages, phone calls and Arabic-language media broadcasts.
Over the past 24 hours, the IAF struck over 60 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including military structures and terrorist infrastructure.