The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that three soldiers were killed by a tunnel containing a bomb planted at a clinic inside a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school in Rafah.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement:
After an anti-tank missile was fired at the IDF from the UNRWA school, a combat team from the 12th Brigade conducted operations inside the school grounds, which also houses a mosque and a clinic.
During an operation to clear a medical clinic, explosives planted in a tunnel shaft that had been rigged with explosives detonated twice towards the soldiers, one of which killed three soldiers, Staff Sergeant Amir Gharilov, Staff Sergeant Uri Bar-Or and Staff Sergeant Ido Apel of the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade.
“In addition, a large amount of weapons, including firearms and grenades, were found on the facility during the operation. Troops discovered a key shaft within a classroom at the school, which leads to an extensive network of underground terror tunnels.”
Israel has criticized UNRWA’s role in Gaza, saying the agency indoctrinates Palestinians to hate Israel and the Jewish people, and has accused UNRWA staff of supporting and even participating in the October 7 terror attack by Hamas in Israel.
The risk of bombs being planted in tunnels and buildings is one reason the IDF prefers bombing dangerous locations rather than sending in troops. The Biden administration recently withheld needed bombs in protest of Operation Rafah.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He recently published an e-book,The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Join It)” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
