IDF and Israel Security Service (Shin Bet) forces eliminated the head of Hamas's anti-tank system in the Khan Yunis Brigade, as well as the organization's former director of military intelligence, the security services announced in a joint statement Monday.
Yaakub A'ashur, head of the anti-tank system in Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade, was eliminated by an IDF aerial strike under the direction of the Shin Bet, the statement said. A'ashur was a battalion commander and later the head of the anti-tank formation in the Khan Yunis Brigade. As part of his role, he took part in leading and directing offensive lines against IDF forces.
Forces also eliminated Mohammed Khamis Dababash, a senior Hamas terrorist who had previously served as the organization's director of military intelligence, among other roles.
Over the last two years, Dababash served as secretary of the national relations portfolio in Hamas' political bureau. He also served as Hamas' representative at the gathering of the national and Islamic factions in the Gaza Strip. He was involved in the planning of the attack in the settlement of Atzmona in March 2002, in which five Israelis were murdered.
Other Hamas officials eliminated
Security forces also eliminated Tahsin Maslam, Hamas' commander of the combat assistance company, who oversaw special forces in Beit Lahia; Jahad Azzam, a military intelligence officer in Zeitun, and Manir Harev, a senior official in the Rafah Brigade.
The IDF says it has struck over 4,300 terrorist targets, including some 300 terrorist tunnel shafts, since it began its invasion of Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks.