The IDF killed Ubayd Allah Na'im al-Hadhud Musa, who served as the deputy head of a Hamas sniper cell in the Deir el-Balah area, the military announced Sunday.
"Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence," the IDF said.
The military had confirmed earlier on Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas command and control center in the area in a joint operation with Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
"At the time of the strike, numerous Hamas terrorists were operating from within the compound, planning terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops. The targeted terrorists had further plans to carry out additional attacks," the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement.
IDF activity in Gaza over Passover
The IDF completed the encirclement of Gaza's Rafah, the Israeli military said on Saturday, part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the Gaza Strip, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
The IDF has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea.
Israel said on April 2 that troops had begun seizing an area it called the Morag Corridor, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
"The more Hamas continues to refuse, the more the IDF will intensify its operations—targeting its operatives and destroying its infrastructure," Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X/Twitter.
"Gaza will become smaller and more isolated, and more of its residents will be forced to evacuate combat zones."