The IDF eliminated several Hamas commanders of the Tel Al-Sultan Battalion during joint operations between the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the military said on Tuesday.
The commander of Hamas’s Tel Al-Sultan Battalion, Mahmoud Hamdan, and three additional company commanders from the battalion were reportedly killed.
Hamadan played a significant role in the October 7 massacre, according to the IDF.
Soldiers from 401st Brigade identified terrorist squads using drones and directed air force aircraft towards them.
Tel Al Sultan Battalion command dismantled
This attack, along with additional strikes, effectively dismantled the command chain of the Tel Al Sultan Battalion and killed dozens of other terrorists from the battalion.
Hamdan advanced the deployment plan of the Rafah Brigade before IDF troops entered the area and initiated, led, and planned numerous terror schemes against IDF personnel and Israeli territory.
Earlier, Air Force fighter jets, guided by Shin Bet, Military Intelligence, and the Southern Command, attacked key Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control complex disguised within the humanitarian area in Khan Younis.
The IDF stated that "the terrorists advanced and executed terror plans against IDF troops and Israeli citizens."
The IDF reported that the airstrike in the area resulted in the elimination of 19 Hamas terrorists, including four senior commanders at the battalion and regional command levels.
The IDF dismissed Hamas's claims of a higher casualty count and denied that many uninvolved civilians were harmed.
The IDF claimed it had observed terrorists, some of them senior, emerging from tunnels and attempting to operate from humanitarian areas and even trying to hide in shelters. The IDF added that the strike in Khan Younis was targeted and precise.
Yesterday, Maariv reported that the security establishment had identified an attempt by Hamas to rebuild its northern battalions, including the reconstruction of what remains of the battalions in the north and central Gaza Strip. Consequently, Division 252 has initiated an operation in the central Gaza Strip.
This operation had three objectives: First, to expand the security perimeter of the corridor. Secondly, to signal to Hamas that in the absence of a ceasefire agreement, Israel is determined to continue fighting, including in areas considered valuable to the terror organization, such as central and northern Gaza. Thirdly, to thwart the rebuilding of Hamas battalions.