“AThe forces of the paratrooper brigade, the 7th brigade and the elite Yahalom engineering unit completed their mission, which lasted about two weeks in Shujaiya, under the command of the 98th division,” the Israeli army said in a statement.
On the last day, the forces destroyed two underground routes, and throughout the operation they managed to dismantle up to eight tunnels used by Palestinian militias in Gaza for military use, having killed around 150 enemy fighters, the army added.
In the tunnels, forces found weapons, laptops and communications equipment, as well as equipment and infrastructure for a long stay at the site, including gas and electricity supplies.
“During the fighting, the forces eliminated dozens of terrorists, destroyed combat compounds and trapped buildings,” the military statement added, referring to the third ground incursion into Shujaiya since the start of the war.
Israeli forces had already carried out an intense military operation in Shujaiya, a neighborhood in the southeast of Gaza City, a Hamas stronghold, last December, leaving the area virtually devastated.
During the December offensive, the army mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages when they came out with their arms raised and white flags to call for help, thinking it was a trap.
Israel concluded its operation in Shujaiya on the same day it ordered the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza, where its troops have also returned in recent days to fight Hamas forces, who are managing to rebuild areas that the army has given up control of.
Gazans have been urged to move to the “safe zone” of Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, but humanitarian organizations report that there are no safe places.
Nine out of ten people have been displaced at least once in the enclave since the war began, while the majority have had to move from one place to another on multiple occasions, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The nine-month war has left nearly 38,300 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip and around 88,000 injured, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Read Also: Hezbollah reiterates support for Hamas’s position in peace talks
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2596133/israel-finaliza-operacao-militar-no-bairro-de-shujaiya-em-gaza
