The Israel Defense Forces opened fire Monday on two Hamas terrorists in the central Gaza Strip who took part in the Hamas-led invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, the military said.
It confirmed that one of them, a Nukhba Force terrorist identified as Mohammad Abd al-Nasser Jabr Abu Asaad, was slain in the Deir al-Balah area.
The pair had been recently planning to advance terrorist attacks targeting IDF troops and Israeli civilians, and attempted to rehabilitate the terrorist organization’s armed force while systematically violating the ceasefire, the IDF said.
“IDF troops under the Southern Command remain deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the army added.
On Sunday, the IDF and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) struck a Hamas weapons-production site in the Maghazi area of the central Gaza Strip, killing the commander responsible for the facility.
The IDF identified the terrorist as Ismail Abu Ful and said he was involved in manufacturing explosive devices and anti-tank rockets for Hamas’s “military” wing. The IDF said the site had been established near an aid distribution point operated by an international organization and accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure to rebuild its armed capabilities in violation of the ceasefire.
The IDF noted it issued advance warnings and used precision munitions and aerial surveillance to reduce the risk to civilians.
Also on Sunday, the IDF struck a Hamas Nukhba Force platoon commander who had infiltrated southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, the military said in a separate statement.
The strike took place in the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF said.
IDF kills two Gazan terrorists
Over the weekend, the Israeli military eliminated two terrorists in separate incidents in Gaza.
On Saturday, the IDF killed a company commander in the Deir al-Balah Battalion of Hamas’s “military” wing in the central Gaza Strip, identified as Sharif al-Hasanat.
He was killed while posing an “immediate threat” to the troops.
In southern Gaza on Friday, a terrorist crossed the Yellow Line and posed a threat to troops positioned in the area, the IDF said. “The troops fired and neutralized the terrorist in order to remove the threat,” it added.
Earlier in the day, troops operating in the central Gaza Strip identified a Hamas terrorist armed with a knife.
After he crossed the Yellow Line, the forces apprehended him and transferred him for questioning in Israel, the army said.
Israeli security forces presently control roughly 53% of Gaza, a territory referred to as the security zone, with its western border running through the Strip designated the Yellow Line.
Israel: ‘Zero tolerance’ for airborne devices launched from Gaza
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed the IDF to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy toward kites and balloons launched from Gaza toward communities in the Negev.
“If the launches continue—powerful actions will be taken to put an end to the phenomenon,” said Katz. “A balloon and kite shall be treated the same as a drone—with or without explosives.”
He said Israel would not allow its security zone across the Gaza border to be bypassed.
Katz spoke after the IDF located four kites over the weekend that crossed the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Terrorist groups in Gaza have in the past used kites to fly incendiary devices and bombs into Israel.
