IDF destroys Hamas leader’s office, secret terror headquarters

Israel struck targets across the Gaza Strip, including the offices of arch-terrorist Ismail Haniyeh, following a rocket attack launched by Hamas targeting Israeli civilians.

By World Israel News Staff and AP

Israeli forces on Monday struck targets across the Gaza Strip, including the offices of Hamas’ supreme leader, in response to a surprise rocket attack from the Palestinian territory, as the military bolstered its troops and rocket-defense systems in anticipation of a new round of heavy fighting with the Islamic terror group.

Israel opened public bomb shelters in most major cities and civil defense authorities canceled sports events and public transportation in southern Israel. The Israeli army said air raid sirens wailed in southern Israel late Monday night, with one rocket fired into the country, but it provided no further details.

“Israel will not tolerate this. I will not tolerate this,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump.

“Israel is responding forcefully to this wanton aggression,” he said. “We will do whatever we must do to defend our people and defend our state.”

Ahead of the Israeli airstrikes, Hamas’ leadership went into hiding.

Several airstrikes rocked Gaza, including an explosion that destroyed the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. An earlier blast destroyed a multistory building in Gaza City identified as a Hamas secret military intelligence headquarters.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. In both blasts, Israel fired warning shots to evacuate the buildings.

Pressure to strike Hamas mounts

In Washington to celebrate the U.S. recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Netanyahu was forced to cut short his trip under heavy pressure to strike back at Hamas.

Earlier, Haniyeh issued a statement warning Israel against heavy retaliation.

Witnesses reported seeing Hamas evacuating personnel from government premises. Hamas also announced that its Gaza chief, Yehiya Sinwar, had canceled a public speech. Other leaders turned off their mobile phones, while Hamas police were seen evacuating their stations. Hamas even released some prisoners it was holding, in another sign of anxiety.

In Beirut, the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah said its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, met Monday with a Hamas delegation led by top official Saleh Arouri. Hezbollah said they discussed the Gaza situation.

Hamas is facing perhaps its toughest domestic test since seizing control of Gaza in a bloody coup from the rival Palestinian Authority 12 years ago.

An Israel-Egyptian blockade, imposed to weaken Hamas, combined with sanctions by the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas government’s single-minded focus on building up its terror infrastructure, at the expense of Gazans’ basic needs, have all fueled an economic crisis that has left Gaza with an unemployment rate above 50 percent.

Hamas has also been leading weekly violent riots along the Israeli border for the past year to launch covert attacks on Israel, using human shields to attempt infiltrations and airborne incendiary devices to mount a massive terror arson campaign destroying thousands of acres of Israeli fields.

Last week, hundreds of Gazans protested the dire conditions, a rare expression of public discontent against the Hamas’ authoritarian government. Hamas responded with a violent crackdown, beating and arresting dozens of demonstrators and drawing public criticism.

The rocket attack may have been an attempt by Hamas to divert attention from its growing domestic woes.

Netanyahu faces the difficult task of delivering a tough blow to Hamas while avoiding protracted fighting that could work against him on election day.

Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, said a mild response was not an option.

“It will be something on a bigger scale,” he said.

“He doesn’t want a war before elections, but they put him in a corner,” he added. “After three missiles reaching the heart of Israel, the chance of a big escalation including a ground offensive, is very high.”

Attacks on central Israel

Monday’s attack came 10 days after rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel’s densely populated commercial capital of Tel Aviv, and the Israeli military struck back. Gaza’s Hamas leaders said the rocket was fired accidentally and the fighting quickly subsided.

The sounds of air raid sirens jolted residents of the Sharon area, northeast of Tel Aviv, shortly after 5 a.m. Monday, sending them scurrying to bomb shelters. The sound of a strong explosion followed.

The rocket destroyed a residential home in the farming community of Mishmeret, wounding six members of a family.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including two women who were moderately wounded. The others, including two children and an infant, had minor injuries.

The Israeli military said Hamas militants fired the rocket from southern Gaza. It said its Iron Dome rocket-defense system was not activated because the attack in central Israel had not been anticipated. The army added it was reinforcing its missile defense batteries in preparation for an escalation.

Maj. Mika Lifshitz, a military spokeswoman, said it was a self-manufactured rocket with a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles), making it one of the deepest rocket strikes ever carried out by Hamas.

Lifshitz added that two armor and infantry brigades were being mobilized to the Gaza front and that a limited drafting of reserves was also taking place.

The cities of Tel Aviv and Beersheba opened public bomb shelters. Civil defense officials canceled sporting matches and train service in southern Israel. Schools were ordered to hold classes in bomb shelters, and large public gatherings were banned.

The family home in Mishmeret was left in ruins, with tiles, broken furniture and debris scattered about. A shattered baby’s crib lay among the rubble and two family dogs died in the explosion.

“I nearly lost my family,” said Robert Wolf, grandfather of the injured residents. “If we hadn’t gotten to the bomb shelter in time, I would now be burying all my family.”

GazaHamasIsmail HaniyehIsraeli airstrike