The IDF disclosed the identities of nine terrorists eliminated early Thursday at a UNRWA school in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. This revelation follows international criticism after Palestinian claims suggested 45 civilians were killed in the incident.
Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the IDF is continuing efforts to identify additional terrorists killed in the attack. He condemned global media outlets for echoing Hamas' claims of civilian casualties "before checking the facts."
"[O]ur Air Force used precise munitions to target the three specific classrooms that the terrorists were hiding inside," Hagari said in English. "These are only a few of the terrorists we eliminated. There are more. Some of them took part in the brutal massacre of October 7. We are working to verify the information before we will share it."
Hagari emphasized that the terrorists were operating from the UNRWA school and that the strike was based on concrete intelligence from multiple sources, indicating imminent attacks against Israelis.
"We stopped a ticking time bomb," he said. "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."
Hagari added the attack targeted "Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, some from the Nukhba force. Terrorists with blood on their hands... Some of them took part in the brutal massacre of October 7.”
The terrorists eliminated in the attack include Ali Hasan Bana, Ahmed Salah Mansur, Muhammad Mutasab, Mosab Hafez Darwish, Salem Afesh and Muhammad Barham, all members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"This is the fifth time we have had to target Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists operating from inside UNRWA facilities... in the last month alone," Hagari continued. "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, UN facilities, hospitals and mosques."
Hagari criticized media outlets for falling for "Hamas' tactics," noting that leading news channels prominently featured Palestinian claims of civilian casualties. CNN and other media outlets reported that, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, 45 Palestinians were killed in the strike.
"While Hamas abuses international law, the IDF will continue operating according to international law," Hagari asserted.