IDF Kills Jehad Mheisen
On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an airstrike that killed Hamas security chief Jehad Mheisen. According to Palestine-affiliated news agency Jerusalem News Network, Mheisen was murdered at his house along with some of his family members.
The demise of the security chief comes a few days after the IDF declared that it would attack the Hamas fighters until it eliminates all of them. The Jewish military, however, has noted that most leaders of the criminal group are hiding among innocent civilians.
Yesterday, the IDF reported it had killed two other leaders of Gaza-based criminal groups. They include Refat Abu Hilal, who before his death had been serving as the head of the Popular Resistance Committees militant group, and Jamila al-Shanti, the wife to Hamas founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.
IDF Eliminates More Hamas Leaders
Following the deaths of Mheisen and Al-Shanti, the number of Hamas leaders killed by the Israel Defense Forces since October 7 now stands at four. The other two murdered leaders are Hamas head of internal relations, Zakariya Abu Moammar and the group’s treasury manager, Jawad Abu Shamala. Moreover, the IDF has not speared former Hamas leaders. Last week on Tuesday, it killed the group’s ex-minister for education.
Besides the Hamas leaders, the IDF has reported killing a significant number of the over 2,400 terrorists who invaded Israeli territory on October 7 and murdered more than 1,350 people. The Jewish military has also said several Hamas command centers, intelligence infrastructure, and rocket launch sites have been destroyed.
“We are Prepare for the Next Stage of This War,” IDF Spokesperson Says
As IDF continues to launch airstrikes, its spokesman Daniel Hagari says they are preparing for the next stage of the fight against Hamas. Since the start of the week, he has urged Gazans living in the northern part of the region to relocate to the south as IDF plans to carry out an intensified operation in that area.
Israel resumed supplying water to southern Gaza earlier this week and also entered a deal with Egypt to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gazans via Rafah.
Meanwhile, Hagari says the number of hostages held by Hamas is now 203. He adds that the figure isn’t final, as Israel Defense Forces is still investigating information regarding people who have gone missing since the war began.
