Under Ladawi, the apparatus gathered intelligence for Hamas leaders to support terror operations against Israel.
By United with Israel Staff
The IDF and Shin Bet announced Sunday that they eliminated a senior Hamas internal security commander in an airstrike in the central Gaza Strip.
Wael Musa Khaled Ladawi, commander of Hamas’s Internal Security apparatus in the central Gaza camps, was killed Saturday in a strike in the Deir al-Balah area.
According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Hamas’s Internal Security apparatus serves as a secretive and central mechanism within the terrorist organization.
Under Ladawi’s command, the apparatus collected intelligence for senior Hamas officials, which was used to support decision-making and advance and carry out terrorist operations against Israel.
The IDF said Southern Command forces remain deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue operating to remove any immediate threats.
The announcement came shortly after the IDF said security forces had arrested four Palestinian terrorists involved in attacking an off-duty IDF soldier and stealing his weapon near Susya in southern Judea over the weekend.
Immediately following the incident, security forces launched searches, recovered the stolen weapon and arrested two of those involved.
Overnight, troops from the elite Duvdevan Unit operated in the city of Yatta and arrested a third suspect linked to the theft.
Security forces continued searching the area, and a fourth suspect involved in the attack surrendered to Civil Administration forces earlier Sunday.
All four suspects were transferred to security forces for further interrogation.