IDF eliminates senior member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Rafah

Tel Aviv, Sep 17 (IANS) The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday announced that the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ's) Rocket and Missile Unit in Rafah was eliminated in an intelligence-based strike.

The eliminated militant, identified as Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash, was leading the PIJ's rocket and missile unit, according to the IDF.

"Al-Hashash was responsible for the Islamic Jihad's rocket attacks in the Rafah Brigade and was an important source of knowledge of rocket fire within the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation in Gaza," the IDF said in a statement on X.

Israel also claimed that al-Hashash was responsible for "firing rockets from inside the humanitarian area toward Israeli civilians" during the conflict.

The statement further said that at the time of the strike, al-Hashash was "embedded and operating inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis."

The IDF said that prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.

Last week, IDF struck a command and control centre embedded within a humanitarian area in Khan Yunis, which was being used by Hamas militants, in a precise, intelligence-based overnight operation.

According to the IDF statement, several militants involved in militant activities were killed, including Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, Head of Hamas' Aerial Unit in Gaza, Osama Tabesh, Head of the Observation and Targets Department in Hamas' Military Intelligence Headquarters, and senior Hamas figure Ayman Mabhouh.

These individuals, according to the IDF, were directly involved in the October 7 massacre and had continued to engage in planning attacks on Israel.

Earlier this month, the IDF eliminated two Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) battalion commanders in a strike on Deir al-Balah.

Among those killed were Abdallah Khatib, commander of PIJ's Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, and Hatem Abu Aljidian, commander of the Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion, both of whom played roles in the October 7 attacks.

Israel's ongoing large-scale offensive against Hamas comes in response to the deadly Hamas assault on southern Israel, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths and the taking of 250 hostages.

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