Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed six members of Hamas's armed wing, including three commanders, the Israeli military said on Friday, according to Shafaq News. The army identified two commanders killed in one strike: Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya, a Hamas cell commander, and Ibrahim Jihad Mohammed Abu Oshaiba, a platoon commander in the group's armed wing.
Source: Shafaq News via Bytes Europe
In its own post on X on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Abu Taqiya was a squad commander in Hamas's military wing who was involved in holding numerous hostages in captivity at the beginning of the war, and that Abu Oshaiba was a platoon commander. The IDF said both men had recently advanced attacks against Israeli civilians and troops and worked to restore Hamas's capabilities, which it called a systematic violation of the ceasefire. Those are the Israeli military's claims; Hamas had not confirmed the deaths or the men's roles in the reporting reviewed.
Wednesday's Khan Younis and Rafah strikes
Separately on Friday, the IDF and Shin Bet announced that two strikes on Wednesday in the Khan Younis and Rafah areas of southern Gaza killed four other Hamas operatives, Israeli outlets including Ynet and the Times of Israel reported. They named Mohammad Alian Biuk, a member of Hamas's elite Nukhba unit, in the Khan Younis strike, and al-Mamoun Jaber al-Sayed Abu Labda, identified as a senior Hamas commander, along with two additional operatives, in Rafah.
Source: Ynet / Times of Israel via News in Israel
The IDF said the four had also recently planned attacks and worked to rebuild Hamas's capabilities in violation of the ceasefire, and that the strikes were carried out to remove the threat they posed. No independent confirmation of the identities or roles was available, and no civilian casualty figures were reported for these specific strikes in the sources reviewed.
The announcements show targeted strikes continuing inside Gaza despite the ceasefire, with Israel saying it is hunting Oct. 7 participants and commanders rebuilding Hamas's military wing — a pattern that keeps the ceasefire under daily strain and shapes any wider US-Iran and regional de-escalation talks.
What is solid
- The IDF announced the Friday and Wednesday strike results in its own statements on Friday
- Shafaq News reported six armed-wing members killed, naming Abu Taqiya and Abu Oshaiba
What is only claimed
- The dead men's roles and hostage and attack-planning claims — stated by the Israeli military, not independently confirmed
- Whether Hamas will confirm the deaths — it had not commented in the reporting reviewed