Katz: Top Hamas terrorist captured in Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed on Tuesday that a senior Hamas official had been captured in Gaza, according to Hebrew media reports.

“A senior Hamas terrorist operative was arrested a short while ago—and this is our policy: we do not wait for threats; we pursue Hamas terrorists, neutralize them, and destroy their terrorist infrastructure,” Katz said in a Hebrew-language recorded message while visiting the Israeli community of Netiv HaAsara, situated near the northern border of the Gaza Strip.

Earlier in the day, local Gaza reports said that the Israel Defense Forces had carried out “unusual” strikes in the Gaza City area.

A local, allegedly Israeli-backed Gaza militia came under fire in western Gaza City during an operation to apprehend a Hamas associate, according to those reports.

The Israeli Air Force provided heavy cover fire to secure the militia’s escape route, the reports continued. Israeli missiles subsequently struck two vehicles carrying militants; however, their condition remains unknown.

In his recorded message, Katz added, “We are not moving from Gaza until the Strip is demilitarized, Hamas is disarmed, and all the terrorist underground tunnels are dismantled; and even after that, the IDF will remain in defensive positions in Gaza and ensure the security of the western Negev communities.”

The IDF said separately that it had struck several targets in the Gaza Strip to remove threats to Israeli forces, and that it had killed Hamas commander Omar Mohammed Roshdy Saraj in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood earlier in the day.

The IDF said Saraj managed weapons supplies for Hamas terrorists in Gaza City. Another Hamas operative was targeted in the same attack, according to the military.

The IDF said the two had recently advanced attacks against Israeli troops and civilians and worked to rebuild Hamas capabilities in violation of the ceasefire.