In a series of overnight airstrikes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted and killed several Hamas operatives in Gaza, including those involved in the deadly October 7 attacks.
The operatives were reportedly based in school compounds and operating within structures in the Shati and Daraj Tuffah areas of northern Gaza at the time of the strikes.
According to the IDF, many of the terrorists killed had participated in the October 7 assaults, taken hostages, and were planning further attacks. "The Hamas terrorist organization continuously violates international law by systematically exploiting civilian structures and using the civilian population as human shields for its terror activity against Israel," the IDF stated. The military has frequently discovered Hamas weapons, tunnel shafts, and command centers in schools, hospitals, homes, and UN facilities.
Recent Israeli airstrikes and raids have targeted buildings used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including a UNRWA facility, a Gaza university, and residential homes. These strikes aimed to minimize civilian harm by using aerial surveillance, precise munitions, and additional intelligence measures.
Palestinian reports indicated that a sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was among those killed in the Shati strike, although details remain unclear.
The October 7 attacks by Hamas resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 252 Israelis and foreigners. Of the 116 remaining hostages, over 30 are believed to be dead.
