Top Hamas Operations Chief Eliminated in Israeli Strike

“This is in contrast to the blood libel spread by the creators of the film NAZA against our heroic soldiers,” Katz said.

By United with Israel Staff

The IDF and Shin Bet eliminated a senior Hamas military commander who headed both the terror group’s Rafah Brigade and its operations apparatus in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening, Israeli security forces announced.

Nael Abu Obeid was killed after directing Hamas terrorists and advancing plans for attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, according to the IDF and Shin Bet.

Abu Obeid took command of the Rafah Brigade following the elimination of his predecessor, Muhammad Shabana. He previously served as deputy commander of the brigade and headed its Tel al-Sultan and Yabna battalions.

In addition to commanding Hamas forces in Rafah, Abu Obeid served as head of operations for the terror group’s military wing, making him a key figure in its senior command structure.

The IDF said Abu Obeid had recently been working to rebuild the Rafah Brigade after its capabilities were severely degraded during the war.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strike reflected Israel’s policy of eliminating terrorists and immediate threats while seeking to avoid harming civilians.

“The policy that the prime minister and I are leading, and that the IDF is implementing in the most professional and appropriate manner, is clear: We eliminate terrorists and remove threats, and we do not attack civilians and uninvolved people,” Katz said.

Katz contrasted the operation with allegations made in NAZA, an Israeli documentary accusing the IDF of deliberately killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“This is in contrast to the blood libel spread by the creators of the film NAZA against our heroic soldiers,” he said.

Katz also addressed the future of Hamas in Gaza, saying the United States and other countries involved in the agreement have committed to disarming the terror group and destroying its tunnel network.

“There is a commitment from the United States and the countries accompanying the agreement to disarm Hamas and destroy all the tunnels,” Katz said. “We all understand that this will not happen, and the IDF is prepared, once the order is given, to eliminate Hamas and finish the job.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu similarly declared following Abu Obeid’s elimination, “No terrorist is immune, and Hamas will no longer exist in Gaza.”

The strike marked the second announced elimination of a senior Hamas commander on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the IDF and Shin Bet announced that Ahmad Batsh, commander of Hamas’s Jabalia Battalion in the terror group’s Northern Gaza Brigade, had been eliminated in an overnight strike in northern Gaza.

According to the IDF, Batsh was responsible for managing and organizing the brigade’s weapons and was involved in coordinating the supply of weapons and military equipment to Hamas operatives.

The military said Batsh had recently been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians while working to rebuild Hamas’s capabilities in what it described as systematic violations of the ceasefire.

The IDF said Batsh was targeted to remove the immediate threat he posed and that precautions were taken to minimize civilian casualties, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.

Israeli forces remain deployed in Gaza in accordance with the existing agreement and will continue operating against immediate threats, the military said.