The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Tuesday that it killed senior Hamas leaders involved in the October 7 terrorist attack in a precision airstrike in Khan Yunis, Gaza.
The IDF carried out the strike following intelligence and surveillance that identified the terrorist leaders operating out of a command center located in a designated humanitarian zone.
The operation specifically targeted Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, Head of Hamas’ aerial unit, along with Osama Tabesh and Ayman Mabhouh, both high-ranking Hamas officials.
“These terrorists were directly involved in the execution of the October 7th Massacre and have been recently operating to carry out terror activities against the IDF and the State of Israel,” the IDF’s statement read according to Israel War Room’s post on X.
The statement also accused Hamas’ Government Information Office of consistently spreading “lies and false information throughout the war” and indicated the office’s reports on the strike were deceptive.
The IDF noted that Hamas continues to use civilians as human shields.
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 and systematically use Gazan civilians as a human shield for its terrorist activities.
A Jerusalem Post report expanded on the IDF’s statement, also noting that the now-deceased leaders were directly involved in the execution of the October 7 attacks, which resulted in the slaughter of Israeli civilians.
The report also noted that “Hamas has repeatedly been recorded using civilians as shields during their terrorist operations,” pointing out that Hamas’ military commander Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, was hiding out in a humanitarian area in the same region.
This development comes after news reports surfaced revealing that Hamas executed six Israeli hostages, including one American. President Joe Biden responded by criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for supposedly not doing enough to stop the terrorist group from killing the hostages it kidnapped on October 7.
The Biden administration was reportedly “shocked” that Hamas murdered the hostages and then made more demands and issued new threats, according to RedState’s Nick Arama.
Hamas has apparently upped their demands that Israel let more prisoners out:
In previous rounds of negotiations there was an understanding that in the first phase of the deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners who are serving life sentences would be released. Now Hamas demands a higher number, the officials said.
The situation in Gaza remains tense as Israel continues the effort to eradicate Hamas despite the Biden administration and other world governments insisting on a ceasefire.
