The Israel Defense Forces last week eliminated Musa Shaldan, deputy commander of Hamas’s Zeitoun Battalion, during an operation in the Gaza City area, the military announced on Monday morning.
Shaldan took part in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacre, serving as a company commander, and was a key figure in launching incendiary balloons toward Israeli territory, according to the IDF statement.
He also played a role in the release of hostages, including participating in a Hamas parade during their transfer as part of a recent deal, it said.
Throughout the 23-month-long war, while operating from humanitarian shelters, Shaldan oversaw attacks on IDF troops serving in Gaza City, it added.
IDF ground troops continue to operate across the Gaza Strip, guided by the Military Intelligence Directorate and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the army said in a separate announcement on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, IDF troops operating in Gaza City identified two gunmen attempting to approach their position. A short while later, the troops struck and eliminated the terrorists.
At the same time, the IDF and Israeli Air Force conducted precise strikes in Gaza City, eliminating a terrorist who was identified as the head of a Hamas cell, a terrorist carrying an RPG launcher and two additional terrorists who approached soldiers and posed a threat to them.
Meanwhile, in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers “struck and dismantled” several structures and intelligence targets in the area.”
Over the past 24 hours, the IAF struck more than 160 terrorist targets throughout the Strip, including terrorist operatives, arms storage facilities, observation posts and other infrastructure, according to the military.
In an operation on Tuesday, members of the Givati reconnaissance unit eliminated an armed terrorist as he approached them while hiding under a blanket, the IDF said, adding that no soldiers were hurt.
On Sunday, the IDF announced the elimination of Hasan Mahmoud Hasan Hussein, a Nukhba company commander in Hamas’s Bureij Battalion who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre.
Hussein operated alongside Muhammad Abu Atiwi, killed in October 2024, and the two led the attack on the bomb shelter on Route 232 in Kibbutz Re’im. He also took part in the abduction of Israeli civilians.
The continued attacks on Hamas in Gaza come as the United States and Israel are awaiting the terrorist organization’s response to Washington’s Gaza peace plan, which calls for its disarmament, an immediate truce and the release of the 48 hostages held in the Strip after 724 days.
