ISRAEL has captured Hamas’s “Elite Quarter” including the complex terror tunnels used by the leaders of the terrorist group.
IDF troops announced they secured the area in the centre of Gaza on Wednesday with one of the houses believed to belong to the secretary of Gaza’s Bin Laden.
The terror tunnels have been used by senior Hamas militants such as Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Muhammad Deif and many others who plotted and ordered their fighters to kill thousands of people.
Ruthless leader Sinwar has evaded Israeli capture twice in just days after escaping through the terror network’s tunnels, according to claims.
Sinwar, dubbed “Gaza’s Bin Laden”, is being hunted in the south of the Strip in what Israel described as “the new capital of terror”.
The Hamas chief, according to Israel’s Channel 13 quoting intelligence sources, is reportedly on the move constantly in an attempt to dodge capture and assassination.
The “Elite Quarter” has been at the heart of a fierce battle between IDF soldiers and Hamas thugs over the last few days after Israel completely surrounded “Palestine Square”.
During the intense battles to secure the area, IDF forces are believed to have eliminated around 600 terrorists in both ground operations and aerial strikes.
The forces carried out a combined and coordinated offensive on “Palestine Square” and snatched the area away from the bloody hands of Hamas.
After claiming the spot, a thorough “sweep and clear” operation was done that revealed the underground city containing the complex Hamas’s tunnel system.
The tunnels are connected to other places along the battered Gaza Strip but are also thought to lead to the houses and offices of senior Hamas officials.
One of these belongs to Sinwar’s secretary and is a spot where the ruthless thug is thought to have stayed at before.
These offices and homes are set up for a quiet and swift exit through specially made elevators and stairs that takes them further into the tunnels and to safety.
Over the past few months, many claims have been made that the tunnels also lead to a plethora of terrorist hideouts, bureaus and residential apartments for the senior leaders.
This complex, both above and below ground, was a center of power for Hamas’ military and political wings.
This military grade infrastructure of the tunnels was located near shops, government buildings, civilian homes and even a school for deaf children and underneath a babies cot.
This wicked tactic allows Hamas operatives to escape when they need to or cower away and hide underground for days on end.
Food, water, and clever electrical infrastructure was seen that showed Hamas terrorists were seemingly open to staying underground for prolonged stays.
The network also included explosive blast doors to hide anyone’s tracks and a tunnel shaft used for logistical movements,
IDF troops also found construction equipment and a whole heap of things from walls to concrete arches inside a hidden workshop that was believed to be used for digging and building the underground network.
Next to this workshop is a 20m deep shaft with a spiral staircase and a blast door that can make the tunnel’s pathway disappear.
This shaft was found demolished by explosives used by Hamas, and only several lethal weapons and high-tech devices were collected up nearby.
Sinwar, 61, who planned the October 7 massacre of 1,200 in Israel and the kidnapping of 240 more, already knows he is a dead man walking and his death could end the war.
The symbolic triumph of his eventual death could be enough to halt the bloody blitz of the besieged enclave, experts say.
Moreover, the bullet, bomb or knife in the back that finally ends his life and cools Gaza’s cauldron of suffering seems increasingly likely to come from one of the Hamas leader’s own people.
Palestinians are finally turning on him for triggering the war with Israel which has torn apart their territory and devastated their lives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously described him as acting like a “little Hitler in a bunker,” adding: “He has no care for his people.
In recent weeks, the 401st Brigade in the 162nd Division, along with forces from the Shaldag Unit, Shayetet 13 and the Yahalom Unit have been operating in the area of Rimal in Gaza City, where ‘Palestine Square’ is located.
Earlier this week, troops from the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion captured Palestine Square in the Shejaiya neighbourhood and tore down a sick statue that was built to glorify a deadly attack on Israel by the terrorists during the 2014 Gaza War.
The twisted monument was pulled down by Israel‘s famous Caterpillar D9 which is known as the world’s most indestructible bulldozer.
Famously called “The Teddy Bear”, the 62-tonne monster bulldozer is almost impenetrable to guns and explosives – and has mine-proof armour that can deflect rockets
The square is the same place where Hamas terrorists paraded the released hostages a few weeks ago during the “fragile truce“.
