The Israel Defense Forces killed a Hamas terrorist in Gaza who was responsible for the murder of an Israeli civilian at the Nahal Oz checkpoint in 1995, the military said in a joint statement with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) on Saturday.
The targeted killing was conducted as part of strikes carried out throughout the Strip over the past week in response to a “blatant violation” of the truce in the Rafah area, the IDF noted.
Muhammad Hamed Muhammad al-Hawli was a key figure in the terrorist organization for decades, the IDF said.
As the commander of Hamas’s Central Camps Brigade, he played a significant role in preparations for the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the northwestern Negev.
Al-Hawli directed the terrorists who carried out the attack on Feb. 6, 1995, in which Ashkelon resident and security guard Yevgeny Gromov was murdered.
Another terrorist slain was Ashraf Adnan Muhammad al-Khatib, a commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s missiles array in the Central Camps area, the military stated.
A Hamas sniper commander in the Deir al-Balah Battalion of the Central Camps Brigade, Saeed Khaled Ali Abd al-Rahman, was also killed in the IDF strikes.
Two more terrorists were eliminated in central Gaza, the IDF added.
“The elimination of these terrorists constitutes a significant blow to the capabilities of the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip to plan and attack IDF forces deployed in the area in accordance with the [ceasefire] agreement,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.
On Tuesday, according to Ynet, IDF troops identified six armed Palestinian terrorists in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip. Tanks that arrived at the scene opened fire and a battle ensued, including air support for the Israeli soldiers. Two IDF fighters were wounded by shrapnel, the report said.
Meanwhile, reservist IDF troops of the 16th Infantry Brigade, also known as the Jerusalem Brigade, under the 252nd Division’s command, completed their mission east of the Yellow Line in northern Gaza, the IDF said in a separate statement on Saturday.
The forces killed dozens of terrorists who posed immediate threat to them, the army said.
The troops destroyed hundreds of examples of terrorist infrastructure and equipment above and below ground, including weapons, tunnel shafts and underground routes.
“IDF forces in the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to act to remove any immediate threat,” the military said.
