On Saturday, the IDF Spokesperson unveiled footage distributed by Hamas, displaying the organization’s members launching mortar shells from a tent in Rafah, which seems to serve as a shelter for displaced Gazans. The footage can be viewed here:
Firing from a tent area
(Video: IDF X page)
"Hamas released footage of a terrorist using a civilian area as a launch site," the IDF spokesperson noted. "This exemplifies Hamas' strategy: launching rockets from any location, preferably amid civilians."
In the video released by Hamas, the terror group claimed the attack targeted an IDF helicopter in Rafah. The group did not mention that the tent was used by displaced Gazan civilians.
On Saturday night, it was cleared for publication that eight soldiers from the 601st Engineering Battalion of the 401st Iron Trails Brigade were killed in the Rafah area, near the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp. Initially, it was believed that their armored vehicle, a Namer armored combat engineering vehicle, had struck an explosive device. However, it is now increasingly thought that the explosion resulted from an anti-tank missile strike on the Namer.
So far, the names of six fallen soldiers have been made public: Sergeant Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, 21, from Beit Shemesh; Sergeant Itay Amar, 19, from Kochav Yair; Staff Sergeant Stanislav Kostarev, 21, from Ashdod; Staff Sergeant Orr Blumovitz, 20, from Pardes Hanna; and Staff Sergeant Oz Yeshaia Gruber, 20, from Tal Menashe.
On Sunday morning, the IDF spokesperson announced that the army will enforce a "tactical-humanitarian pause" in military activity in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. This pause will occur daily from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. until further notice, aiming to facilitate an increase in humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip. The pause is intended to allow aid trucks to safely reach the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for aid into the Strip, and to travel securely along the Salah al-Din highway, a primary north-south route, to deliver supplies to other regions within the Gaza Strip.