Israel strikes rocket launchers aimed at border crossing expediting aid deliveries

An Israeli airstrike overnight destroyed a pair of rocket launchers in Rafah that were aimed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the Israel Defence Forces said on Sunday.

In the past week, 2,000 trucks delivering aid entered Gaza, including through the Kerem Shalom crossing, located near the convergence of the Israeli, Gaza and Egyptian borders. Kerem Shalom has taken on new importance since Cairo closed its side of the Rafah border crossing after Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing on May 7. Undelivered food piling up on the Egyptian side has been rotting.

During targeted operations in the area of Rafah, Hamas terror squads trying to attack Israeli troops were eliminated. Afterwards, ground forces discovered tunnel shafts and large quantities of weapons, including AK-47s, RPGs, grenades, and explosives.


In the Jabalya area of northern Gaza, soldiers acting on intelligence seized weapons and rocket parts from a Hamas storage facility embedded inside a school.

"This is further evidence of the Hamas terrorist organization's systematic exploitation of civilian infrastructure for its military activities," the IDF said.

Over the past day, Israeli Air Force strikes destroyed more than 50 terror targets across Gaza, including terror squads, missile launchers, weapons storage facilities and other terror infrastructure.

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 125 remaining hostages, 39 are believed dead.