“The Hamas post near us was not destroyed but damaged. The infrastructure is still there.”
Residents of a community near the Gaza border welcomed Saturday’s airstrike on a Hamas observation post overlooking their homes, but expressed disappointment and anger that the position was not completely destroyed.
The observation post near the village of Netiv Ha’asara was one of four targets hit by Israeli forces in response to a missile fired at the coastal city of Ashkelon overnight.
Residents have long raised concerns about the elevated observation post, which overlooks a wall meant to protect the city from attack.
Before the attacks, members of the terrorist group Hamas were seen standing guard at the observation post.
Immediately after the rocket was fired, just after 3 a.m., Hamas operatives were seen removing cameras and equipment from the post before exiting, public broadcaster Kan reported.
A few hours later, the IDF carried out a precision strike on the position, destroying the cabin but not its support structure.
Yifat Ben-Shoshan, also a resident of Netiv Ha’asara, told Walla news site that she doesn’t understand why the military didn’t completely destroy the fort.
“The post in front of Netiv Ha’asara was not destroyed but damaged. The infrastructure is still there. If they had already bombed it, they should have destroyed it completely,” she claimed.
An unnamed resident of Netiv Ha’asara told the Ynet news site that the strike “sent a message to the terrorist groups in Gaza, but the position would certainly be rebuilt within a few days.”
“Are we being laughed at? Hamas will repair the damage within five minutes and we’ll be ducks in the shooting range again. This position is right above our houses,” the residents lamented.