The IDF eliminated a Hamas commander who was responsible for the attack on IDF soldiers in Operation Protective Edge in 2014 during which Oron Shaul was kidnapped and for directing the attack on Nahal Oz on October 7, the IDF Spokesperson's said on Saturday.
The commander was identified as Wissam Farhat, head of Hamas's Shejaiya Battalion. In 2014, Farhat commanded Hamas terrorists in an attack on an armored personnel carrier in the Shejaiya neighborhood, killing seven soldiers, including Oron Shaul, whose body was taken by Hamas terrorists and has been held by the terrorist organization in Gaza since.
Farhat also helped plan the Hamas massacre on October 7, sending the Nukhba terrorists who targeted Kibbutz Nahal Oz and the Nahal Oz outpost. The Hamas commander was also one of the terrorists who planned a deadly attack against a pre-military school in Atsmona in Gush Katif in 2002 and anti-tank fire which targeted a bus in 2011 and killed an Israeli child.
In 1995, Farhat was arrested while on his way to carry out a suicide attack and was imprisoned for ten years. After returning to Gaza, he worked in rocket production for Hamas.
IDF eliminates terrorists, destroys tunnels in Jabalya
On Saturday, the 551st Brigade combat team completed a mission in Jabalya in the Gaza Strip, having eliminated Hamas terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure, the IDF said.
The demolished infrastructure included tunnels and subterranean structures.
During the operation, which began before the initiation of the now-ended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, IDF troops identified and destroyed a Hamas terror tunnel which extended dozens of meters underground.
A Hamas tunnel in a school
The tunnel was located in the courtyard of a school compound.
Another tunnel was located and destroyed in the home of a Hamas naval force operative, the IDF stated.
Soldiers of the 551st Brigade, along with Israeli Special Forces, also worked to eliminate subterranean infrastructure north of Jabalya, where Israeli troops subsequently isolated and secured an area to facilitate further IDF activity.
Additionally, along with the air force and artillery units, troops destroyed numerous pieces of Hamas combat equipment, including weapons, explosives, launchers, and ammunition.