Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari- June 6, 2024

Overnight, the IDF conducted a precise, intelligence-based strike targeting dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists hiding inside a UN school in Gaza. Some of these terrorists participated in the Hamas Massacre of October 7th. I will soon reveal the identities of some of the terrorists we eliminated.

The terrorists were operating from this U.N. school. They were planning and conducting attacks from inside classrooms of this UNRWA school. Our precise strike was based on concrete intelligence, from multiple sources. The terrorists inside this school were planning more attacks against Israelis, some of them imminent. We stopped a ticking time-bomb. This is what it was.

Our intelligence indicated that the terrorists were operating from inside these three classrooms. Three classrooms. We delayed our strike twice, because we identified civilians in the area. We had aerial surveillance that had been monitoring the Hamas compound for a few days. We conducted the strike once our intelligence and surveillance indicated that there were no women or children inside the Hamas compound, inside those classrooms. Despite the complex operational conditions, our Air Force used precise munitions to target the three specific classrooms that the terrorists were hiding inside.

Here are some of the terrorists who were hiding inside the UN school in Nuseirat who we eliminated before they could carry out more attacks against Israelis.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, some from the “Nukhba” force. Terrorists with blood on their hands. These are only a few of the terrorists we eliminated. There are more. Some of them took part in the brutal massacre of October 7th. We are working to verify the information before we will share it.

This is the fifth time we have had to target Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists operating from inside UNRWA facilities. I want to repeat it - the fifth time we are operating against Hamas that is using UNRWA facilities, in the last month alone. Hamas wages war from schools and hospitals. Hamas hopes that international law and public sympathy will provide a shield for their military activities, which is why they systematically operate from schools, U.N. facilities, hospitals and mosques.

Sadly, we saw some media outlets fall for Hamas’s tactics yet again, before checking the facts. While Hamas abuses international law the IDF will continue operating according to international law. The systematic abuse of U.N. facilities is a war crime and it must be stopped by the world.

We will continue to do everything in our power to bring our hostages back home and defeat Hamas. As we fulfill this mission we will continue exposing the true face of Hamas to the world. Thank you.