TEL AVIV – Hamas has been having a difficult two days.
First seven of its fighters were killed two days ago while reconstructing a terror tunnel that collapsed in the northeast section of Gaza City.
Then on Friday, several Palestinians required medical treatment when the ceiling of a Gaza City store collapsed due to the number of people standing on the rooftop.
Video footage of the funeral incident was posted online by the Watania News Agency. A number of people can be seen falling from the roof, a few hitting the below concrete fairly hard as some in the crowd attempted to catch the falling onlookers.
At the funeral, senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, the movement’s former prime minister, vowed to continue building tunnels to attack the Jewish state.
“The Hamas military wing will continue with its preparations both underground and above ground,” Haniyeh declared. “On land and at sea, we will not stop until the liberation of the holy places [in Jerusalem].”
On Thursday, Breitbart Jerusalem quoted Hamas sources revealing the jihadists who died in the tunnel were members of a Hamas commando unit tasked with digging a tunnel into Israeli territory.
The incident occurred while Hamas forces were inspecting the renovation of a tunnel destroyed by Israel during the 2014 Gaza conflict. The tunnel collapsed due to weather conditions, the Hamas sources said.
In November, Breitbart Jerusalem reported Hamas was in the process of building a sophisticated network of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the issue.
The tunnel infrastructure mirrors the network built by Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Iran-sponsored militia is known to have dug a vast underground tunnel complex replete with war rooms, internal communication lines, ventilation systems, and even missile silos.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told Breitbart Jerusalem:
“The IDF is aware of the fact that Hamas has been working to rebuild its sophisticated tunnel network within the Gaza Strip.
“The IDF remains prepared and ready to defend Israel’s borders and its civilians, especially those living in close proximity to the Gaza Strip, from any potential threat should it arise.”
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צרות באות בצרורות: במהלך ההלוויה של שמונת המחבלים שנהרגו בקריסת המנהרה ברצועת עזה, אירעה קריסה של תקרת חנות, עליה עמדו תומכי חמאס שלקחו חלק בהלוויה. לא ברור כמה נפגעו באירוע.
Posted by 0404 on Friday, January 29, 2016