IDF takes out Hamas TV station, 3 terror tunnels

Israeli forces bombed a Hamas television station in Gaza after the IDF issued a warning that the facility would be targeted.

By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff

An Israeli airstrike hit Hamas’ Gaza-based Al-Aqsa TV station, a media outlet used by the terror group to incite riots and anti-Israeli violence.

The station went off the air after the airstrike. Minutes earlier, it halted its programming and was broadcasting a still image of its logo after the building was hit by a warning missile.

Shortly thereafter, three loud explosions were heard and the screen turned black.

Witnesses say the blast destroyed the entire building, and explosions illuminated the night sky.

Workers evacuated the building after the warning shots. It was not clear whether there were any casualties.

The strike occurred after Israel’s military warned that it was prepared to step up its efforts against Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip if rocket fire at Israel continues.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said Monday that Israel has boosted forces near the Gaza border with additional infantry troops, defensive systems and intelligence units.

Conricus told reporters that the army has so far struck dozens of targets belonging to the Palestinian terror  groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Among the sites Israel hit were three attack tunnels, Times of Israel reported.

Conricus stated that some 200 rockets struck Israel on Monday.

Israel retaliated with around 70 counterstrikes, targeting rocket-launching cells and other positions.