Israel says more than 700 rocket launchers destroyed since start of ground war in Gaza

The Israeli Air Force and troops on the ground have destroyed more than 700 rocket launchers used to bombard communities in Israel since the start of the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday in an operational update.

Iranian-backed Hamas militants in Gaza routinely fired hundreds of rockets per day in the early stages of the war that began Oct. 7 when it launched a terror attack into Israel that killed at least 1,300 people — mostly civilians — and resulted in hundreds of other victims taken hostage.

The number of rocket attacks from Gaza has declined sharply since the IDF ground offensive into Gaza began. From Dec. 8-14, Hamas fired 23 rockets per day at Israeli targets, according to the Jerusalem Post.

“As part of the (Israel Defense Forces) activity in the Gaza Strip, the soldiers located Hamas’ weapons caches, seize the missiles and rockets, and destroy Hamas’ rocket launchers in order to remove (their) rocket-launching capabilities and thwart further launches toward Israel,” the IDF said Friday on its Telegram page.

The IDF on Friday said one of their reconnaissance aircraft identified Hamas militants firing rockets from a school and a mosque in the Gaza Strip. Also, ground troops from the IDF’s Golani Brigade found loaded and ready-to-fire rocket launchers inside a cemetery. In both cases, the launchers were destroyed, officials said.

“The Hamas terrorist organization endangers both Israeli and Gazan civilians by indiscriminately firing rockets at Israelis from rocket launchers located inside Gazan civilian buildings, including schools, mosques, and residences,” the IDF said.