The IDF confirmed it killed Rashid al-Qashi, head of the production department in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's manufacturing array, in a strike yesterday in the southern Gaza Strip. In a separate strike in the northern Strip, the military also eliminated a Hamas sniper operative, Abdullah al-Souti.
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Thursday that it eliminated Rashid al-Qashi, a senior official in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's production array, in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, July 8. In a separate strike on Wednesday in the northern Gaza Strip, the military also killed Abdullah al-Souti, a sniper operative in Hamas's military wing. The IDF released a photo of the strike that killed al-Qashi, confirming the operation. According to the military, both operatives posed an immediate threat to Israeli troops and were struck to remove the danger.
The IDF's announcement, issued at 17:35 Jerusalem time on Thursday, provided the identities of both operatives. The initial report identified al-Qashi as a PIJ production official, with a slight spelling variation in the name (Rashid al-Qadhi), which was later corrected to al-Qashi. The separate elimination of the Hamas sniper was included in the same announcement. The military also released a photo of the strike on al-Qashi, confirming the location and timing.
The targeted strikes continue a pattern of operations against mid-level commanders in Gaza's terror groups. As The Zioneer reported, on June 7, the IDF eliminated four Islamic Jihad commanders in a single strike in western Gaza City, and on June 9, two PIJ operatives were killed in the southern Strip. More recently, on July 7, the IDF killed a Hamas field commander in southern Gaza.
No further details on the intelligence or specific circumstances of the strikes have been released. The IDF has not commented on whether the two operations were coordinated or separate.
5 developments
- StrongIDF confirms killing of Islamic Jihad weapons-production commander in Khan Younis
- ConfirmedIDF kills two Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives in southern Gaza strike
- DevelopingIDF strikes targets in Gaza overnight, operatives killed and wounded
- DevelopingIDF Eliminates 4 Islamic Jihad Commanders in Gaza Strike
Source and signal
- Internal intake