ISRAELI troops yesterday blew up a missile dump hidden in plain sight by Hamas terror chiefs on the golden sands of a Gaza beach.

Twenty rockets with a 125-mile range were stored – one on top of the other – inside a locked shipping container.

It was moved here by Hamas to be among innocent civilians enjoying the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean.

Families from the local neighbourhoods of Jabalia, Rimal and Atatra had flocked here before the war.

But for the bloodthirsty hierarchy of Hamas their ordinary lives simply provided the perfect cover.

The evil terror group hid their deadly arsenal here and in the densely populated streets nearby: next to hotels, cafes and even kindergartens.

They didn’t know it or chose to ignore it, but the Palestinians living in this district were used as human shields.

We were led onto the beach by a crack unit of bomb disposal experts from the Israeli Defence Force and taken to the container.

It’s not immediately obvious but upon closer inspection the prominent cones of 20 warheads are ever so slightly poking out.

Major Maayan Mulla tells me: “These rockets can reach the northern Israeli port city of Haifa.

“They have a range of 150-200km.

“They’ve been hiding them here on the beach among civilians, like us, who want to go and enjoy a Sunday morning in the sea.

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“You can see the umbrellas, the chairs. People come here to enjoy themselves. They had no idea what was being stored next to them.

“But this container is a storage for missiles. They are using their civilians as human shields in order to protect their crimes.

“The world needs to see what they are doing. They have built tunnels in schools, 30metres underground, beneath playgrounds.

“Our main mission is to investigate, search and destroy any type of tunnels or weapons so we are going step by step, house by house.

“We are looking for tunnels, weapons and rockets to release Hamas from power. We’re finding this stuff every day.”

There are five columns and four rows, each compartment containing a missile stockpiled to strike Israel.

Soldiers are busily attaching red wires in a chain-like formation.

The wire leads away towards a detonator.

Shortly before 1pm we climbed back onto the Puma tank escorting us and moved back to a safer position.

Moments later we are given a countdown.

A deafening explosion follows – sending projectiles skywards amid a huge soaring mushroom cloud that tears through the clear blue sky.

We duck for cover as burning debris flies in all directions through the air, scattering across this now desolate war zone.

Explosions continue as we head further into Gaza.