Israeli Strike Targets Top Hamas Commanders in Gaza

Latest Developments

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted three top Hamas commanders in an airstrike overnight between September 9 and 10. “Three senior Hamas operatives were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in the Khan Younis humanitarian zone, the IDF confirmed Tuesday,” the Israeli news website Ynet reported. The three men were identified as “Samer Ismail Khader Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’s aerial forces; Osama Tabash, the head of surveillance and targets in Hamas’s intelligence division; and Ayman Mabhouh, another senior Hamas officer,” according to The Times of Israel. The IDF conducted a precise strike on the location after collecting intelligence that Hamas commanders had gathered at the site. “Despite the extensive measures taken by the IDF to enable the Gazan population to move away from combat zones, including by designating a Humanitarian Area, the Hamas terrorist organization continues to embed its operatives and military infrastructure in the Humanitarian Area,” the IDF said in a statement on September 10.

Expert Analysis

“Hamas continues to try to exploit the civilian population of Gaza by hiding among people who have gathered in a humanitarian zone. This has been the Hamas tactic throughout 11 months of war in Gaza. Hamas hides among civilians and uses schools and hospitals because it hopes to try to remain in power in Gaza. Denying Hamas the ability to hide among civilians is a key part of defeating the terrorist group.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

“As with the July 13 strike that killed Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif at his al-Mawasi hideout, Israel is showing that there are limits to what it can do to prevent the Palestinian civilian casualties that Hamas has forced equally upon Palestinians and Israelis. When the terrorists pose as displaced persons and then use the actual displaced as human shields while they plot new terrorist atrocities, the rules of engagement must change.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

IDF Disputes Claims of Civilian Casualties

Hamas claimed that up to 40 people had been killed in the strike before cutting the number in half. “The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza later revised the death toll down to 19,” Ynet reported. “Hamas’ media office in Gaza has been caught lying before, and their figures do not match our intelligence,” the IDF said. The strike on Hamas commanders in Gaza came as Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said, “Hamas as a military formation no longer exists. Hamas is engaged in guerrilla warfare and we are still fighting Hamas terrorists and pursuing Hamas leadership.” The IDF says that it has eliminated more than 17,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza in 11 months of fighting. In addition, the Hamas Rafah Brigade was defeated in August, leaving Hamas with fewer fighters and units to exercise control over Gaza.

Related Analysis

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