The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Tuesday that Moataz Deeb, the commander of Hamas’s missile and rocket array in the northern Gaza Strip, was killed in an airstrike on May 17.
According to the IDF, Deeb was responsible for planning and directing terror attacks against IDF aircraft inside the Strip, in addition to launching unmanned aerial vehicles targeting Israeli civilians.
In the past 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force conducted more than 100 strikes on targets throughout the Gaza Strip, the IDF stated. In northern Gaza, these included a weapons depot, armed terrorists, a facility used by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as underground infrastructure.
In the southern Strip, the IAF targeted terrorists, terrorist compounds, and observation posts, according to the army statement on Tuesday.
The IDF’s 401st Brigade and 162nd Armored Division had begun operations in Gaza’s north as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” the IDF announced earlier on Tuesday.
Forces of the 401st Brigade’s combat team are working to destroy terrorist structures in the area and have eliminated dozens of gunmen.
Meanwhile, the Givati Brigade began operating in the Tel al-Za’tar neighborhood of Beit Lahiya over the past 24 hours, according to the IDF. The soldiers were said to have destroyed numerous military structures belonging to local terrorist groups while eliminating dozens of terrorists in the area, working in cooperation with the air force.
The 215th Brigade has so far attacked 30-plus terror infrastructure targets, including arms depots, booby-trapped buildings and observation posts.
“IDF forces continue to operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, in order to protect the security of the citizens of the State of Israel,” the military said.
On Sunday, the IDF announced the official start of the ground phase of the operation.
“Over the past 24 hours, forces of the IDF’s Southern Command, both regular and reserve, have started a large-scale ground operation across the northern and southern Gaza Strip as part of the beginning of ‘Operation Gideon’s Chariots,’” the army said.
“So far, the forces have eliminated dozens of terrorists, destroyed terrorist infrastructure both above and below ground, and are now taking control of strategic areas within the Strip,” the statement continued.
The IDF reported on Monday that it had carried out more than 160 strikes across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours prior, and had expanded its ground activity targeting Hamas infrastructure.
The current military campaign will continue “as long as necessary” to neutralize Hamas’s remaining strongholds, military officials have said.
