Targeted killing

Israel: Hamas commander in Rafah “eliminated”

Rafah, in the south of the enclave, is being particularly targeted despite the presence of many refugees.(Bild: AFP)

The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it had deliberately killed an important commander of the Islamist Hamas in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. On the basis of intelligence information, a fighter jet "precisely attacked and eliminated the terrorist in the Hamas operations unit in the Rafah area", according to a military statement.

Muhammad Abu Hasna had been active in the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization. He had also been involved in "appropriating humanitarian aid and distributing it to Hamas terrorists". Hasna had also coordinated the activities of various Hamas units.

Allegedly headed Hamas headquarters
He was also responsible for an operations center that passed on information about Israeli army positions in order to help with Hamas attacks. His targeted killing will significantly damage the operational capabilities of various Hamas units in Rafah, the statement said.

Israel is planning a military offensive in Rafah despite international warnings. According to estimates, 1.5 million Palestinians are currently seeking shelter from the fighting in the other areas of the Gaza Strip in the city on the border with Egypt in a very confined space and under miserable conditions. The war was triggered by a massacre in which terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups murdered around 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in Israel on October 7.