Israeli police and military forces say they discovered a rocket during an overnight operation targeting a Hamas network in the West Bank village of Aqqaba.
The raid was carried out by officers from the police’s elite Yamam counterterrorism unit alongside IDF troops, following intelligence from the Shin Bet concerning Hamas activity in the area.
According to the police and military, the operation resulted in the detention of 10 suspected Hamas operatives. During a search of one site, Yamam personnel reportedly found a rocket that did not have a launcher.
Authorities say one of those detained subsequently directed the forces to additional weapons, including an assault rifle and a substantial quantity of explosive material.
The suspects were transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning, while police sappers destroyed the seized weapons, including the rocket at the location, according to the statement.
Israeli authorities say Palestinian terror groups have made multiple efforts in recent years to develop and fire improvised rockets from the West Bank toward Israeli communities and other targets inside Israel, although those efforts have achieved little or no reported success.