An Israel Defense Forces strike in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday eliminated the head of intelligence in Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade, the army said on Thursday morning.
Muhammad Abu Shaleh “served as the intelligence officer for senior brigade officials and took part in planning the October 7, [2023], massacre,” according to the military. He was also said to have worked in recent months to rehabilitate the terrorist group’s capabilities, in violation of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
“The terrorist was targeted in a precise strike in order to remove an immediate threat to IDF troops. Prior to the strikes, measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance,” the army said.
On Tuesday, the IDF targeted and killed a Hamas commander responsible for transporting weapons and other combat equipment used in the Oct. 7 massacre. Yahya Abu Labda, a commander in the terrorist organization’s supply and logistics department, “transported dozens of tons of raw materials to manufacture rockets, as well as advanced electronic components to advance Hamas’s manufacturing capabilities,” the IDF said. “The equipment was subsequently used by Hamas during the October 7 attack,” in which thousands of terrorists, led by Hamas, infiltrated Israel and slaughtered some 1,200 people.
On Sunday, the IDF struck a Hamas cell that had been planning an attack, killing seven, including two who infiltrated on Oct. 7, 2023.
The current ceasefire went into effect in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 10, 2025, ending the two-year war that began when Hamas, other Palestinian terrorist groups and Gazan “civilians” invaded the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.
