The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that it had killed two Hamas military commanders, one week after the terror group launched a murderous attack on communities in southern Israel, killing 1,300 Israelis, as the military urged Gazan civilians to flee south ahead of an expected ground operation.
According to the IDF, Ali Qadhi, a company commander in the so-called Nukhba commando squad who led one of the October 7 attacks, was killed in a drone strike as a result of intelligence work by the Shin Bet security agency and the Military Intelligence Directorate.
Qadhi was detained by Israel in 2005 for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli businessman Sasson Nuriel, and he was released to Gaza as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap in 2011.
Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip blasted through the Israeli security fence and streamed into Israel by land, air and sea on Saturday, in what is now described as an unprecedented attack.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in response launched multiple attacks targeting Hamas’ key infrastructure. So far, over 2,000 people have been killed in Israel and the Gaza Strip in the biggest escalation in decades between the two sides.
More than a million people in the northern Gaza Strip have been ordered to evacuate to the south as the latest Israel-Hamas war entered its seventh day Friday and Israel appeared to be preparing a ground offensive, reported Associated Press. Hamas urged residents to stay put.
The orders sent panic through civilians and aid workers already struggling under Israeli airstrikes and a blockade of the Hamas-ruled area.
International aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis after Israel prevented the entry of supplies from Egypt to Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
