The army statement said that the facility, located in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, contained models of Israeli military bases and armored vehicles, as well as entry points to kibbutzim.

The soldiers also raided the office of Muhammad al-Sanwar, a senior leader in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.

He is also the brother of Yahya Al-Sinwar, head of the political bureau of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, who is believed to have masterminded the October 7 attack.

The army added that during the raid on the Al-Qadisiyah complex in Khan Yunis, the forces encountered a number of gunmen who opened fire.

He added that they were "neutralized" by sniper fire, tank shelling and air strikes.

According to the army statement, “a lathe for manufacturing weapons and underground infrastructure was found in the area, as well as a large quantity of weapons, which included anti-tank missiles, RPG missiles, FN Mag machine guns, roadside bombs, hand grenades, and others.”

The war broke out in Gaza after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the killing of about 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to a tally prepared by Agence France-Presse based on official figures.

About 250 hostages were also taken into custody in the attack. Israel says 132 of them are still in Gaza, and at least 27 of them are believed to have died.

Israel pledged to eliminate Hamas, and launched a massive military attack that killed at least 27,365 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip.