The IDF said early Sunday that it carried out an airstrike targeting a terrorist cell in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, killing several operatives, including one who infiltrated Israel during the October 7 Hamas-led attack. Some of those killed had been operating under the guise of journalists, according to the military.
According to a statement, the terrorists were operating a drone intended to facilitate attacks against Israeli troops operating in Gaza and that the drone had been in continuous use by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The strike follows Palestinian reports that nine people were killed in the attack.
The IDF named the terrorists killed in the strike as Mostafa Mohammed Shaaban Hamad, a Hamas operative who infiltrated Israel on October 7; Mahmoud Yahya Rashdi Al-Sarraj, a Hamas engineering operative; Bilal Mahmoud Fouad Abu Matar, a Hamas terrorist who operated under the guise of a photographer; Mahmoud Imad Hassan Aslim, a member of Hamas' Zaytoun Battalion, also posing as a journalist; Suhaib Bassem Khaled Nagar, a PIJ terrorist released in the most recent hostage deal; and Hamas operative Mohammed Alaa Sobhi Al-Jafeer.
"The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF troops," the military said in its statement.
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The IDF said the strike was carried out in two phases. First, two terrorists operating the drone were identified and attacked. Then, as additional terrorists moved in to recover the drone equipment and entered a vehicle, the IDF struck them as well.
The Palestinian health ministry said several people were wounded in the strike, some critically, and were taken to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza.
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Palestinians mourn terrorists killed in IDF strike on Beit Lahia
(Photo:Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian sources claimed that the drone was being used to document the distribution of humanitarian aid to civilians. Hamas' Gaza-based media office echoed the claim, telling AFP that the operatives had been filming "a large table set for the Ramadan iftar meal" (the fast-breaking meal). Hamas said the individuals were attacked despite their "clear professional role."
Roughly an hour before the Beit Lahia strike, the IDF said it targeted three terrorists near Israeli forces in central Gaza's Netzarim corridor as they attempted to plant explosives.
In recent days, amid a fragile cease-fire, the IDF has reported multiple strikes targeting terrorists attempting to plant roadside bombs or engaging in what it described as "suspicious activity" near its forces, most of whom were eliminated in airstrikes.