(JNS) — Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion and the 188th Armored Brigade on Monday destroyed “Palestine Square” in Gaza City’s Shejaia neighborhood, including smashing a Hamas statue commemorating the killing of Golani soldiers during the 2014 Gaza war.
“We are here, the 13th Battalion, at the place where the terrorist organization Hamas erected a statue glorifying the disaster that happened to the battalion in ‘[Operation] Protective Edge.’ We are sending a clear message to Hamas: Wherever such a statue is erected, we will come and destroy it,” said Lt. Col. Yuval Mazoz, the new commander of the 13th Battalion.
Mazoz replaced Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, who was killed in a Hamas ambush in Shejaia on Dec. 12 along with eight other soldiers in the deadliest day for Israeli forces since the start of ground operations in Gaza on Oct. 27.
During the 2014 war, seven Golani soldiers were killed when their armored personnel carrier (APC) was hit, including Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose body was captured by Hamas and is still being held in Gaza.
Hamas erected a statue glorifying the attack, which included a clenched fist pushing through an APC holding three dog tags, including one with the name of Shaul.
The captured square is where the terror group paraded released hostages several weeks ago.
IDF forces destroy ‘Palestine Square’ amid intense battles in Gaza
