The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Tuesday struck and killed Yahya Fathi Abd al-Qader Abu Shaar, the head of Hamas's weapons smuggling network, the military announced on Thursday.
Shaar smuggled weapons and military equipment used by Hamas into the Gaza Strip for several years, including weapons used during the October 7 massacre.
The IDF and Shin Bet also struck and killed Mazen Ibrahim Mahfouz Farra, a key member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in Khan Yunis last week.
Additional military operations in Gaza this week
IDF troops in Rafah and the 'Morag' Corridor in southern Gaza located and dismantled rocket launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites, as well as tunnel shafts and mortars.
Additionally, over the past few days, the Israel Air Force struck over 110 targets from different terror organizations throughout the Gaza Strip, including terrorist cells and infrastructure sites, the military said.
Among the targets struck were terrorist cells, military structures from which Hamas terrorists operated, additional terrorist infrastructure sites, and a Hamas command and control center in Jabalya.
"The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law while taking over civilian infrastructure, and while brutally exploiting the civilian population as a human shield for its terror attacks. The IDF and ISA will continue to operate against Hamas to protect the State of Israel," the military's statement read.