Yoav Zitun
Ynet News, Mar. 3, 2024
“it is evident to everyone that his astute suspicions triggered the initial chain of events in one of the IDF’s primary achievements in the war: the exposure of the most closely guarded secret of the military commander of Hamas, Mohammed Deif – an expansive military infrastructure that has provided and bolstered Hamas’ militant forces.”
This incident occurred during the tenth night of the ground offensive in Gaza. Major Aviv, leading a platoon in the Shaked Battalion of Givati, arrived to secure a street on the outskirts of the coastal town of Al-Attara, situated to the north of the upscale Rimal neighborhood. While advancing, Aviv surveyed the area from the APC and noticed a specific house that raised his suspicions. This three-story house was located next to an abandoned children’s park, a typical location where Hamas tends to conceal its assets.
Aviv gave the order to “fire a missile” at the building. The missile jolted the structure, but as the smoke dissipated, it became evident that the area was filled with egg cartons, dense sponges, and tightly packed wooden boards for sound insulation. It was clear that someone was intent on ensuring that no noise could be heard inside or outside the building. But what kind of noise? And why?
He directed his fighters to provide cover as he entered. Initially, everything appeared to be a standard Gaza residential home. “You see one floor in the home of a regular family, with children’s rooms, a living room, and a kitchen,” he described. However, on the upper floors, he discovered something entirely different: “I identified a type of entrance to an entire industrial plant, most of which extended underground through concealed passages and an elevator that descended deep below ground. I quickly realized that I had opened Pandora’s box,” he says.
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