BICOM

Three elite IDF soldiers were killed yesterday as they attempted to demolish a tunnel entrance when the surrounding building was detonated by Hamas operatives.

The incident took place in Khan Younis, where the elite Maglan unit was destroying a tunnel shaft which had been uncovered within what appeared to be a United Nations-operated health clinic. The soldiers had sent in sniffer dogs and a small tractor to limit damage to the building, but while they were implementing the precautionary measures, explosives were detonated collapsing the building around them. Three soldiers were killed and 15 were injured, with additional IDF soldiers coming under fire as they evacuated the wounded.

IDF Gaza Division commander, Brig. Gen. Micky Edelstein illustrated the difficulties of such an operation, explaining, “Once you enter such a clinic … and you know there is a terror tunnel there, you know it’s a very very sensitive building … and you’re trying not to harm this place.” However, he explained that, “we enter with our people, and they [Hamas], from the very same terror tunnel, they blow up half the clinic on our troops.”

Edelstein said that yesterday’s incident is reflective of a wider challenge, noting that when IDF forces advanced along a single street of 28 buildings on Tuesday night, 19 were found to be booby-trapped. Similarly, Givati infantry soldiers last weekend reported numerous booby-trapped houses which also contained various weapons and communications equipment.

Meanwhile, figures released by the Terrorism Information Centre, which collects and studies data on terrorist activity, indicated that at least one third of Palestinian casualties so far during Operation Defensive Edge are terror operatives, while the identities of another third are not yet known. Head of IDF Southern Command, Sami Turgeman yesterday said that “many hundreds” of Hamas operatives have been killed. He also estimated that with the amount of concrete used by Hamas to construct its complex tunnel network, two hospitals, 20 schools, 20 healthcare centres, and 100 kindergartens could have been built.