Israel Strikes Hamas Command Center in Gaza City College Campus

Jerusalem, 3 September, 2024 (TPS) -- Israeli aircraft struck Hamas terrorists in a command and control center embedded inside an area that previously served as a Gaza City college campus, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

The compound previously served as the Numaaa College in Gaza City, but was being used by Hamas to plan and carry out attacks.

The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law and operates from within civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, brutally exploiting the Gazan civilian population for its terrorist activities,” the IDF said.

Steps taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence military added.

Earlier in the day, the IDF announced that an overnight airstrike in Gaza City eliminated Ahmed Wadiyya, who commanded a Hamas unit responsible for the October 7 massacre at Moshav Netiv HaAsara. Seven other terrorists were killed in the strike.

Wadiyya was identified as drinking soda inside the kitchen of Netiv HaAsara resident Gil Taasa in full view of his children after killing their father. The children survived the massacre.

Also on Tuesday, the IDF announced that combat engineers completed the destruction of a more than one-kilometer-long tunnel in the northern Gaza area of Beit Lahia. The tunnel contained a track for transporting equipment, extensive electrical infrastructure as well as weapons.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.