The military announced it killed Ahmad Yahya Ibrahim Batsh, a Hamas Nukhba cell commander, in a strike in northern Gaza on Sunday, and Hamouda Abu Daqa, a military intelligence commander, in a separate Monday strike in southern Gaza. Both were described as advancing terror plots against Israeli forces operating in the Strip.
The joint IDF and Shin Bet announcement, published Tuesday at 14:44 Jerusalem, confirmed the elimination of two Hamas commanders in separate operations over the past two days. Ahmad Yahya Ibrahim Batsh, a Nukhba cell commander, was killed in a Sunday strike in northern Gaza. The military said he had been advancing terror plots against Israeli troops throughout the war, including recently. In a separate Monday strike in southern Gaza, the military killed Hamouda Abu Daqa, a commander in Hamas's military intelligence unit. He was described as gathering intelligence on IDF forces to direct attacks and posing an immediate threat to troops operating in the area. The announcement, which identified both operatives by name, follows initial reports earlier on Tuesday that first named the two eliminated commanders, with the military confirming the details across multiple subsequent releases up to 14:44 Jerusalem.
This latest operation continues a pattern of targeted killings announced by the IDF and Shin Bet in recent weeks. As The Zioneer reported on July 1, the security agencies killed Hamas platoon commander Adel Jihad Muhammad Asfour, described as directing sniper and explosive attacks against troops. The current announcement also follows the identification of other senior Hamas operatives eliminated in June, including a Nukhba squad commander killed in civilian clothes on June 28 and a Nukhba cell commander who participated in the October 7 infiltration, also confirmed on June 28. The military reiterated that it will continue operating to remove any immediate threats.
No independent confirmation of the strikes or the operatives' roles has been provided by Hamas or other sources. The military's account of the threat posed by the two commanders remains based solely on the joint IDF and Shin Bet statement.
3 developments
- StrongIDF kills two Hamas cell commanders in central and northern Gaza strikes
- DevelopingIDF, Shin Bet kill three Hamas commanders in northern Gaza strike
- StrongIDF reveals names of two Hamas operatives killed in Gaza last week, says they were plotting attacks on troops
- ConfirmedIDF kills two senior Hamas commanders in northern Gaza for ceasefire violations
Source and signal
- Internal intake