Hamas positioned rockets next to pool, kids' playground, using people as 'human shields': IDF
The terrorist group Hamas positioned rocket launchers near children’s playgrounds and other civilian sites to use bystanders as human shields, recent footage shared publicly by the Israel Defense Forces shows.
Hamas terrorists invaded Negev in southern Israel on Oct. 7, torturing and murdering 1,400 Israeli and foreign civilians, including women and children. More than 5,000 were wounded, and over 240 people were taken captive as hostages. Since the invasion, Hamas has fired over 8,000 rockets into Israel, according to the IDF.
Last month, Israel commenced a ground operation in Gaza to eradicate the terrorist group and secure the release of the hostages taken by Hamas. In interrogation footage released by Israeli security agencies, one of the Hamas militants is seen confessing that men who brought a hostage back to Gaza were promised $10,000 and an apartment as a reward.
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On Monday, the IDF shared video footage of a building in the northern Gaza Strip with colorful paintings on the walls of children dressed in scout uniforms. The soldiers in the video zoom in on the walls before revealing that rocket launchers are also inside the building, which a soldier noted appeared to be aimed north, toward the city of Ashkelon in Israel.
“This is what we are finding in Gaza,” an IDF soldier says in a video shared on X. “A building where children play is a Hamas rocket launching site. You have to see it to believe it.”
In another video that the IDF shared on X on Sunday, soldiers in Beit Hanoun, a city in the northeast edge of the Gaza Strip, noted the presence of rocket launcher barrels within a residential neighborhood.
“What you can see here is a group of four launching barrels for rockets [being fired] towards Israel,” an IDF soldier said in the video. “Only 5 meters from a children’s swimming pool, and maybe 20-30 meters from residential buildings. All this in the heart of a residential neighborhood.”
The IDF also shared videos and photos on X of rocket launchers within a children’s playground and other places where civilians are likely to be located. In its post, the IDF cited the video and pictures as evidence that Hamas uses civilians “as a human shield for the benefit of terrorist needs.”
As The Times of Israel reported Sunday, the IDF also received intelligence over the weekend that it said proves Hamas is using hospitals in Gaza for terrorist purposes.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari shared video footage with international media outlets that showed a Hamas terrorist firing at Israeli forces from within the Sheikh Hamad Hospital, and the footage also showed the terrorist emerging from a tunnel underneath the hospital.
“If it weren’t enough that we exposed a tunnel under the hospital, the terrorists also shot at our soldiers from within the hospital,” Hagari said.
According to the spokesman, the footage exposes how Hamas “exploits hospitals as part of its war machine,” and he explained that the reason for declassifying the material is because the world must “take immediate action.”
Hagari said that the hospital is funded by the Qatari government, according to The Times of Israel. The IDF spokesman also disclosed that aerial images also show rocket launchers located not too far from the complex, adding that Hamas “built the Indonesian Hospital to disguise its underground terror infrastructure.”
During the briefing, Hagari also shared calls from Hamas officials describing how they take fuel from the hospital.
“Human shields are a key pillar of Hamas’ terror operations,” Hagari said. “Hamas systematically exploits hospitals as a key part of its war machine.”
“This is the murderous organization we are dealing with,” he continued. “Hamas doesn’t even try to hide it. They say it loud and clear.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
