Footage from IDF strike on terrorist compound in Gaza's Rafah
The IDF said late on Sunday it had carried out a precise strike on a Hamas compound in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but that it was reviewing the incident following reports that the strike caused a fire and civilians were harmed.
"An IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah in which significant Hamas terrorists were operating. The strike was carried out against legitimate targets under international law, using precise munitions and on the basis of precise intelligence that indicated Hamas' use of the area," the military said.
The IDF later announced that it eliminated Yassin Rabia, a senior Hamas commander leading the terrorist group’s operations in the West Bank. Rabia managed the entirety of Hamas' terrorist activity across the West Bank, transferred funds to terror targets and planned Hamas terror attacks throughout the territory. In the past, Rabia carried out numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed.
The army said that Khaled Nagar, a senior official in Hamas’ West Bank wing, was also killed in the attack. Nagar had reportedly directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities across the West Bank and transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip.
Previously, Khaled Nagar carried out several deadly terror attacks, including an attack in which Esther Galia was murdered in November 2002, an attack in Ein Yabrud in which three IDF soldiers were killed in September 2003, and a shooting attack in which Tzvi Goldstein was murdered and his family members were injured in June 2003.
According to the army, the strike was carried out in the area of Tal as Sultan, in northwest Rafah, based on precise intelligence.
"The IDF is aware of reports indicating that as a result of the strike and fire that was ignited several civilians in the area were harmed. The incident is under review," it said.
Earlier, Al Jazeera reported that at least 27 Palestinians were killed in an attack on tents for displaced people in Gaza's Rafah. The number was later increased to 35.