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Hamas leaders targeted and neutralized by IDF forces in underground tunnels
Israeli military releases image of Hamas commanders it killed
Tel Aviv [Israel], December 6 (ANI/TPS): The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) revealed never-before-seen photos found in Hamas terror tunnels, including one of five of the most senior figures from its Northern Gaza Brigade, killed during the fighting while hiding in the tunnels. The picture shows a group of terrorist commanders holding a meeting while enjoying fruit and soft drinks. The Northern Gaza Brigade is the second largest in the Hamas terrorist organization.
The IDF killed the commander of the brigade, Ahmed Andor, the deputy commander of the brigade, Vaal Rajab, and other senior officials, including the commander of the brigade’s aid battalion, and the head of observations in the northern Gaza Strip. They were killed in a strike on the tunnel in which the Hamas commanders were hiding, which was located under civilian homes and close to the Indonesian hospital.
Ahmed Andor served as a member of the limited council of the military branch. Andor was responsible for the direction and management of all Hamas terrorist activities in the northern area of the Gaza Strip. At the same time as the elimination of the Hamas commanders in the northern Gaza brigade, the commander of the Beit Lahia battalion and the commander of the central Jabalia battalion were also killed.
The IDF said that due to the killings of these terrorist leaders, the Northern Brigade’s ability to function was “significantly damaged.” In addition, IDF forces killed four battalion commanders from Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade, its largest brigade. Among them were the commander of the Sabra Battalion, the commander of the Shati Battalion, the commander of the Darj Tafah Battalion, and the commander of the Shajaiya Battalion.
The IDF reported that the Sabra battalion was “significantly damaged” and, in addition to its battalion commander, commanders in the central command avenue were eliminated as well and the battalion headquarters was put out of use. In the sector of the Shati Battalion, IDF forces took control of its central strongholds. That battalion is responsible for the central headquarters of Hamas, including the Hamas headquarters at the Shifa hospital. In addition, the heads of its anti-tank, air formation, and naval formations were eliminated. (ANI/TPS)
Israeli troops storm into the ‘heart of Hamas’ in CENTRE of Khan Younis and face traps, tunnels, and ‘bloodiest fighting yet’
ISRAELI forces have stormed into the center of the terror stronghold Khan Younis as the ground offensive expands beyond northern Gaza.
The IDF says the troops have been involved in the “bloodiest fighting” since the start of the war in the city – believed to be the hiding spot of Hamas leaders including “Hamas Bin Laden” Yahya Sinwar.
” alt=”Israel says it has reached the centre of Hamas stronghold Khan Younis”
Israel says it has reached the center of Hamas stronghold Khan YounisCredit
The IDF has launched the third stage of its ground offensiveCreditThe IDF says that troops have also reached Jabaliya and ShejaiyaCredit: AFP
The IDF said the troops have reached Khan Younis as Israel launches the third stage of its offensive in the besieged enclave.
Remaining hostages are also believed to be in the area, meaning IDF troops are expecting a “final standoff”, Richard Pater, Director of British Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) told Sun Online.
But the devastation won’t end for months, even if all leaders are found, because the area is expected to be heavily booby-trapped, he added.
Head of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman posted on X/Twitter: “We are in the heart of Jabaliya, in the heart of Shejaiya and starting last night, also in the heart of Khan Younis.
“This is the most intense day [of battles] since the start of the [ground] maneuver, in terms of terrorists killed, the number of engagements and the use of fire from the ground and the air.
“We plan to continue attacking to deepen achievements.”
Footage of the conflict shared online shows heavily-armed IDF soldiers marching through rubble and into bombed-out buildings.
Machine guns are fired into open windows, in front of distant bomb blasts.
One of the clips was shared with the caption: “Documentation: Fighters of the 601st Battalion’s combat team in a face-to-face battle against Hamas terrorists.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi added that forces have now surrounded the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza.
It comes after “many senior commanders” were killed, he added.
“Whoever thought that the IDF would not know how to resume the fighting after the truce, was mistaken. Hamas is feeling this strongly.
“In the last few days, many operatives, including senior commanders, were eliminated.
“We captured many Hamas strongholds in northern Gaza, and now we are operating against its ‘centers of gravity’ in the south.”
Pater added that the “household names” of senior Hamas leadership are believed to be “part of the underground labyrinth underneath in Khan Younis”, according to Israeli intelligence.
But he explained how it is now more complicated due to the large number of civilians evacuated from the north of Gaza.
“So they now find themselves in the Khan Younis area,” he added. “And similarly, the hostages that remain are also thought to be in that area, so it could be a final standoff.
“But there’s also a sense that the Hamas leadership at least, could, as they have in the past, use other people as their fodder to take their hit and escape, to live, to fight another day.”
Pater said IDF will be moving to the south next.
He added the operation will be vastly different from the one in the north because progress will be slow.
He said: “First of all, making every effort to clear the civilian population from those areas, and only then go in with ground forces again forever cognizant that these areas are going to be booby-trapped, laid with mines and explosives, and that there is that duality of protecting a Palestinian civilian population whilst also protecting the IDF soldiers, lives as well.
“Nevertheless, they will have to proceed slowly and cautiously into those areas, into the layers that Hamas has set, and hopefully there’ll be successes engaging with the Hamas fighters as speedily as possible.
“But I would caution us all that this could take still weeks or even months.”
It comes after Israel revealed it had killed the Hamas chief who masterminded the October 7 massacre.
The IDF urged terrorists to “surrender or share his fate” while sharing a chart showing the hierarchy of the Shuja’iya Brigade, as well as those executed so far.
” alt=”BICOM director Richard Pater says the tunnels will be booby-trapped and laid with explosives”
BICOM director Richard Pater says the tunnels will be booby-trapped and laid with explosives ” alt=”The IDF says the troops have been involved in the most intense fighting since the start of the war”
The IDF says the troops have been involved in the most intense fighting since the start of the war ” alt=”The IDF released a chart showing the hierarchy of the Shuja’iya Brigade, as well as the leaders that have been executed so far”
The IDF released a chart showing the hierarchy of the Shuja’iya Brigade, as well as the leaders that have been executed so far
Four senior Hamas leaders killed including top commander in charge of northern Gaza for 18 years, terror group says
FOUR Hamas leaders have been killed including a top commander in charge of northern Gaza, the terror group has claimed.
In a Telegram post, the organisation confirmed the death of Ahmed Al Ghandour, a senior member of its military council who was in charge for 18 years.
” alt=”Hamas says its top commander Ahmad Al Ghandour has been killed by Israeli forces during war in Gaza”
Hamas says its top commander Ahmad Al Ghandour has been killed by Israeli forces during war in GazaCredit:
Ghandour, on the left, had been in charge of northern Gaza for the past 18 years ” alt=”The IDF had previously said it hit tunnels where Ahmed Ghandour and Ayman Siam were hiding
The IDF had previously said it hit tunnels where Ahmed Ghandour and Ayman Siam were hiding
In a statement, the military faction Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said Ghandour was killed during Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.
He had survived at least three Israeli attempts to kill him, going back to 2002, according to Washington-based Counter Extremism Project.
Other Hamas seniors who were killed were named Wael Rajab, Raf’at Salman and Ayman Siyam, according to the terror group.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “IDF aircraft under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet and Amman have killed five senior commanders of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“One of them was Ahmed Ahandor who served as the commander of the northern division of the Gaza Strip in the terrorist organization Hamas.”
These top commanders were killed before the latest ceasefire, it has been understood.
The IDF had previously said it hit tunnels where Ahmed Ghandour and Ayman Siam were hiding.
The Israeli troops have targeted several of the listed individuals multiple times in the past 15 years.
It comes after Omar Abu Jallah, another top Hamas commander, was wiped out in an Israeli air strike just hours before a four-day ceasefire began.
The IAF said Abu Jallah was a senior naval commander based in Khan Yunis, in the besieged Gaza Strip.
A statement from the force read: “The Air Force, guided by the intelligence of the Navy, AMN and Shin Bet, eliminated Amr Abu Jallah, the commander of the Hamas naval force in Khan Yunis, and another terrorist from the organisation’s naval force.
“Omar Abu Jallah was a senior in the naval force, and was involved from the beginning of the fighting in sending a number of naval attacks that were foiled by our forces.”
The IAF later posted a video saying its fighter jets struck a number of rocket launcher sites in Lebanon.
Last week, Israel raided several homes of Hamas leaders as they stepped up their ground offensive in Gaza.
The IDF said troops stormed the strip’s upscale Rimal neighbourhood with airstrikes and destroyed a Hamas military camp in the area.
One of the dramatic videos released by the IDF shows Israeli troops raiding the homes of senior Hamas officials and engaging in hot gun fights.
Tanks were seen rolling through the ruined streets as Israel blasted unseen enemies in another clip.
The IDF said paratroopers found “35 tunnel entrances” in a statement as they continued to hunt down Hamas terrorists.
It also launched two new assaults in two Gaza neighbourhoods said to be Hamas “strongholds”.
Footage released by the IDF showed troops engaged in intense gun battles as they entered Zeitoun and Jabalia with full force.
It comes after Hamas handed over 13 more hostages after an agonising delay on the second day of the latest truce deal.
Under the deal, Hamas has agreed to free at least 50 of the 240 hostages it snatched on October 7 over the coming days in exchange for 150 Palestinians being kept in Israeli prisons.
New photographs show a number of the hostages released from Gaza on Saturday, including nine-year-old Irish-Israeli Emily Hand, at the Rafah crossing where they were handed over by the Red Cross to Israeli authorities.
Emily had her ninth birthday while being held captive.
The other Israeli women and children released on Saturday are: Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam, siblings Alma and Noam Or, Hila Rotem, Shiri Weiss and her daughter Noga, Adi Shoham and children Yahel and Naveh, Maya Regev, and Shoshan Haran.
Twelve hostages were taken to Sheba Medical Centre and one, 21-year-old Maya Regev, to the nearer Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, as she was in need of urgent medical treatment.
Maya, who was released without her 18-year-old brother Itai, is now in stable condition, the Times of Israel reports.
The truce-for-hostages deal was reached after weeks of intense negotiations – with Qatar, the United States and Egypt serving as mediators.
A total of 24 hostages were freed from Gaza during the first day of the truce, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino.
No British civilians were released.
More hostages are expected to be released over the coming days during the pause in fighting.
If the ceasefire holds, it will mark the first significant break in fighting since Israel declared war on Hamas seven weeks ago.
Gaza has been relentlessly pummelled by Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in recent weeks.
Much of the northern part of the Strip has become a devastated warzone with ruined buildings, dwindling supplies, and horrific suffering for Gaza’s people.
By the Red Cross’ estimates, some 1.5million civilians have been forced to flee south amid the Israeli onslaught from land, air and sea.
Figures for the death toll remain unverified – but Hamas’ health officials have claimed more than 11,000 civilians, including more than 4,500 children, have been killed.
Israel disputes these figures and US President Joe Biden said he had “no confidence” in them.
Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel had “not been successful” in reducing civilian casualties, but said the deaths must be blamed on Hamas, not Israel.
He insisted Israel’s mission remains unchanged and its offensive will resume once the ceasefire period ends.
Israeli troops raided the homes of senior Hamas officials in southern Gaza”
Israeli troops raided the homes of senior Hamas officials in southern Gaza
It released footage showing tanks battling through the streets of the Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza where top Hamas officials allegedly live ”
Israeli troops entered Zeitoun and Jabalia which are known to be Hamas’ strongholds
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