Since formally declaring war on Hamas two weeks ago, Israeli Defense Forces have been targeting senior Hamas leaders in airstrikes in Gaza.
Last Thursday, a Hamas-aligned news agency claimed that Jehad Mheisen, the head of Hamas’ national security forces, and members of his family were killed in one such airstrike, Reuters reported.
Last Wednesday, Reuters reported that Hamas’ Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades claimed that an Israeli air strike took out the senior armed commander of Hamas, Ayman Nofal.
According to Reuters, Nofal was in charge of the armed wing of Hamas in Central Gaza.
In a post on X last Tuesday, the IDF confirmed the reports, sharing video footage showing the strike that took out Ayman Nofel, whom Israel described as “one of the most dominant figures” in Hamas who directed “many attacks against Israeli civilians.”
On October 15, Israel launched strikes against 250 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets primarily in the northern region of Gaza. Among those killed was the commander of Hamas Southern District of National Security Muetaz Eid, according to CBS News.
The targeted strikes on October 15 destroyed dozens of Hamas military headquarters, observation posts, and rocket launching posts.
Another senior Hamas commander, Bilal al-Kedra, was killed in an airstrike on October 14, according to the IDF.
The Hamas leader IDF has named as the mastermind of the October 7 surprise attacks in Israel is Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza.
Ron Dermer, a member of Israel’s war cabinet told CBS News that Sinwar, along with Hamas leader El Deif, was behind the October 7 attacks that were financially and logistically supported by Tehran.
IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht also identified Yahya Sinwar as the mastermind and vowed that the IDF would get to him, describing him in a press conference last weekend as a “dead man walking.”
