The Israeli military (IDF) said on Sunday (October 25) that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza last week killed two men who, it said, facilitated the transfer of millions of shekels from Iran and Turkey to Hamas's military wing throughout the war, Israel Realtime reported.

Source: Israel Realtime, Oct 25

The military identified the men as Alaa Ibrahim Nimer Arshi, a Hamas military-wing cell commander killed in the Gaza City area last Wednesday, and Karam Riyad Hassan Abu Butaihan, an Islamic Jihad operative killed in the Nuseirat area last Tuesday, EuropeSays reported, carrying the same IDF statement.

Source: EuropeSays, Oct 25

According to the IDF, the funds were recently used to help Hamas rebuild its military capabilities and plan attacks against Israeli troops and civilians — which the military described as a systematic violation of the ceasefire. The military said the two men were killed to remove the threat they posed. These are the IDF's claims; neither report carried independent verification of the men's roles, and no Palestinian source confirming the identifications was cited.

Weapons store destroyed on Thursday, military says

Last Thursday, the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) dismantled a weapons storage facility in central Gaza in an aerial strike, the military said. It said Hamas's military wing used the facility to store weapons including Kalashnikov rifles, a launcher and rockets.

The IDF said it used precision munitions and aerial surveillance to reduce the risk to civilians and issued advance warnings before striking the weapons depot. Its statement did not provide information on civilian casualties, EuropeSays noted. The military said Israeli forces remain deployed in Gaza under the ceasefire agreement and that operations would continue against funding networks and attempts by armed groups to rebuild their military capabilities.

2 men killedNamed by the IDF on Sunday: a Hamas cell commander in Gaza City (Wednesday) and an Islamic Jihad operative near Nuseirat (Tuesday)
Millions of shekelsThe amount the IDF says the two men helped transfer from Iran and Turkey to Hamas's military wing during the war — the military's claim, not independently verified
ThursdayIDF–Shin Bet strike the military says destroyed a Hamas weapons store in central Gaza

What is solid

  • The IDF announced on Sunday that two named men were killed in Gaza strikes last Tuesday and Wednesday, and that a weapons store was struck on Thursday (IDF statement via Israel Realtime and EuropeSays)
  • The IDF statement gave no information on civilian casualties (EuropeSays)

What is only claimed

  • The IDF's claim that both men moved millions of shekels from Iran and Turkey to Hamas's military wing and that the money funded rebuilding and planned attacks — this is the Israeli military's allegation; the reports carried no independent verification and no Palestinian confirmation of the men's roles
  • The IDF's description of the funding activity as a systematic ceasefire violation is the military's characterisation
Why it matters

The announcement shows Israel is still striking inside Gaza under the ceasefire, targeting what it calls Hamas's money and rearmament networks. How such strikes are judged against the ceasefire's terms is contested — and each new strike tests how much of the truce survives.