NEW satellite images appear to show the extent of Hamas’s cruelty – rocket launchers deliberately placed next to schools in Gaza.

It comes as instructions on how to make chemical weapons, including cyanide bombs, were reportedly found on the body of a dead terrorist.

The set of satellite pictures, released by Israel, allegedly show just how close Hamas stationed weaponry – which would be targeted by Israeli air strikes – to civilian infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas directly endangers Gazans, Israelis and the international community,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said as they shared the images. 

One particular picture reportedly shows a rocket launch site stationed next to two schools.

Another appears to show a rocket launcher only metres next to a kindergarten.

Further images expose the weaponry being placed close to a UN building and a mosque – which if targeted by Israel, would likely lead to a high number of casualties.

Over the past three weeks, numerous evidence has emerged that Hamas has disguised its weapons under the cover of civilian infrastructure, including public buildings and residences.

The strategy makes it difficult for the IDF to locate and destroy the military targets in the densely-populated enclave without killing or hurting civilians.

Meanwhile, Israeli president Isaac Herzog shared detailed documents that allegedly told Hamas fighters exactly how to build chemical weapons.

The instructions, complete with diagrams, were said to have been found on the body of a dead terrorist in Kibbutz Be-eri – the site of one of the most deadly massacres of the October 7 attacks.

Around 20 per cent of the 1,100 civilians who lived in the border town were killed or kidnapped during Hamas’s horror rampage, including several Britons.

Speaking to Sky News, Hezog said: “This is how shocking the situation is where we’re looking at the instructions that are given on how to operate and how to create a kind of non-professional chemical weapon with cyanide.”

“It’s al Qaeda material. Official al Qaeda material. We are dealing with ISIS, al Qaeda and Hamas,” he added.

The alleged evidence shows ingredients that could build a credible chemical weapon, said chemical weapons expert Hamish de-Bretton Gordon.

The link between Hamas and al Qaeda has not been verified, but both Hamas and the Islamic State’s logos featured on the secret documents.

“Al Qaeda spent a lot of time and effort developing a chemical weapon based on cyanide,” de-Bretton Gordon told Sky News.

It comes as Israel blitzed Gaza, the West bank and Syria over the weekend as the embattled country intensified its air strikes.

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The heavy bombardment could be the precursor to the long-awaited ground invasion of Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing efforts to wipe out Hamas.

Over 4,651 Palestinians have been killed in the aerial strikes so far, of which 40 per cent are reported to have been children.

Last night, the IDF claims to have struck a “terrorist cell” inside Lebanon.

They claimed to have destroyed infrastructure targets, including anti-tank missile launchers and a military compound.

“The terrorist cell was planning to carry out an anti-tank missile launch towards the town of Shlomi,” the IDF said.

For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza, with tanks and tens of thousands of troops massed at the border.

Israeli military officials say Hamas infrastructure and underground tunnel system are concentrated in Gaza City, and that the next stage of the offensive will include unprecedented force there.

While maintaining its efforts to crush Hamas, Israeli officials have also spoken of carving out a possible buffer zone to keep Palestinians from approaching the border.

It is likely that the nation will follow a ferocious five-step plan for a successful ground offensive.

That would include seizing north Gaza, eliminating Hamas’ military and leadership, applying the same steps in the south of the Strip, establishing a fortified base, pinpointing strikes to wipe out Hamas, and demilitarising Gaza within five years.

Meanwhile, the country’s security agency Shin Bet has created a new “Eternal” strike force to track down and kill all 2,500 Hamas terrorists behind the October 7 massacre.

The Sun visited the now deserted Israeli town once home to 27,000 where Hamas butchered families.

In Sderot, Israeli troop used bulldozers to liberate the town, but fears persist that some terrorists are still holed up in the ghostly area, waiting to strike again.