Israel Targets Hamas Commanders, Fighters Amid Reports of Terrorist Regrouping in Gaza

By /

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a series of strikes against Hamas leadership and fighters amid reports of renewed terrorist activity in Gaza. “The IDF announced on Wednesday that the Air Force struck two Hamas commanders, one of whom participated in the October 7th Massacre, in Nuseirat,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “The IDF noted that it later struck a Hamas commander in the Tuffah area of Gaza, and that both of the terrorists planned to attack soldiers in the Strip.”

In its latest strike, the IDF targeted a Hamas commander who took part in the October 7 massacre. “A short while ago, the IDF struck a commander in Hamas’ military wing in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip,” the IDF announced on Wednesday. “The terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in the October 7th Massacre.”

Later on Wednesday, the Israeli military confirmed the elimination of “four Nukhba commanders from the Beit Lahia battalion in the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization.”

The slain terrorists include “Samed Samir Harb Abu Habal, a Nukbah platoon commander who infiltrated Israeli territory during the October 7th Massacre,” the military disclosed.

In a subsequent air raid, the IDF struck “a commander from the Hamas terrorist organization” in Gaza City. He was planning ” to carry out terror attacks against IDF troops,” the military noted.

On Tuesday, the IDF struck a gathering of senior Hamas terror operatives and fighters, including another commander who participated in the October 7 massacre. The military on Tuesday revealed that it “struck a meeting of Nukhba commanders, including a company commander, three platoon commanders, and several additional terrorists.”

“The terrorists advanced terror attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF statement added. “One of the terrorists also infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in the October 7th Massacre.”

The strikes come amid heightened terrorist activity by Hamas in the enclave. Israel’s Ynetnews reported Wednesday that IDF troops are observing renewed terrorist movement in Gaza, but can’t respond under the ceasefire regulations:

IDF reservists serving in central Gaza say they are watching Hamas terrorists operate beyond the Yellow Line but are increasingly restricted from acting against them under tightened ceasefire rules.

“You can see Hamas operatives. They are not armed, but they are digging something, and there is activity going on among these ruins,” a commander in the sector told ynet. “He is handling something in the ground, and the drone follows him beyond the Yellow Line. Two people are not operating a tunnel, but there is something they are dealing with, digging between the collapsed buildings. They go inside as if they are trying to hide. We don’t know what it is, but it is clearly not innocent. That is how we know they are preparing for something.”

The commander said troops can document the activity, but their ability to intervene is limited once Hamas operatives are beyond the Yellow Line. “Our activity here is mainly defensive,” he said. “We are operating all the time in case they cross. These are actions meant to deal with a situation in which they cross, not actions that will prevent them from crossing.”

IDF recovers body of missing soldier from Lebanon after 44 years

The IDF and Mossad intelligence agency retrieved the remains of Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who had been missing since the First Lebanon War of 1982, the Israeli media reported Tuesday.

Katz was one of three IDF soldiers who went missing at the battle of Sultan Yacoub in southern Lebanon, fought between Israel and Syria in 1982. He went missing along with Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman and Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel. In 2019, the IDF recovered Baumel’s body. Feldman’s remains were retrieved after four decades of search in 2025.

The Times of Israel reported:

The remains of Israeli soldier Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who went missing in the First Lebanon War’s battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982, were returned to Israel on Tuesday, the military announced, with Israeli leaders hailing the country’s commitment to bring back every missing or fallen soldier.

The battle, 44 years ago, was a skirmish between the Israel Defense Forces and the Syrian army in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. It claimed the lives of 21 Israeli servicemen and injured more than 30.

Katz, a tank soldier, went missing during the battle, along with Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel and Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman.

Baumel’s remains were recovered with Russian assistance and returned to Israel in 2019, and Feldman’s remains were recovered by Mossad agents in May 2025.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that in a special operation led by the Military Intelligence Directorate, in coordination with the Mossad spy agency, Katz’s bones were located and brought to Israel for burial. No details were given on where they were found.

The operation was based on intelligence obtained in recent months, according to the military. The IDF added that the finding was made possible due to a “series of intelligence and operational activities that continued for more than four decades, since he fell in battle.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF said that personal findings belonging to Katz were brought back to Israel during the operation and given to his family for inspection. Meanwhile, Katz’s bones were taken for identification and confirmed on Tuesday evening to belong to the slain soldier.

The military said Katz’s family was updated over the years regarding the ongoing efforts to locate his remains and return them to Israel. “Upon completion of the mission, the family was informed of the return of their loved one. Unfortunately, Yehuda’s parents, Sarah and Yosef Katz, did not live to receive the news,” the army said.



DONATE

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top