IDF Says Six Terror Operatives Were Killed in Gaza Strikes This Week

The IDF and Shin Bet announced Wednesday that six terror operatives were eliminated in targeted airstrikes in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza earlier this week, including commanders and sniper operatives involved in rebuilding terrorist capabilities.

According to the joint announcement, separate strikes Monday eliminated Mahmoud Jihad Mohammad Qafa, a Hamas sniper-cell commander, and Asaad Suleiman Salman Qashta, an Army of Islam operative who facilitated smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

A separate strike Sunday eliminated four Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives. The security services identified them as Mohammad Zakaria Al-Jamal, a Hamas cell commander; Mohammad Amin Al-Namas, a Hamas operative; Shaher Mohammad Zaarab, a company commander in Hamas's Nukhba Force; and Mohammad Ali Abu Shaar, an Islamic Jihad sniper operative.

The IDF and Shin Bet said the operatives had been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians while working to restore the terror groups' capabilities, in what the military described as a systematic violation of the ceasefire.

The announcement concerns strikes carried out earlier this week, not six new strikes Wednesday.