THIS is the moment the IDF claims it eliminated the commander of the Hamas Naval Unit in an Israeli airstrike.
Terrorist Ahmed Ali was killed today in a joint operation between the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) in Gaza City.
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Ali had been involved in project management for the Hamas Naval Unit in the Gaza Strip for the past few years, the military claimed.
He is said to have been responsible for attacks on Israeli territory and on Israeli ground troops operating in the Gaza Strip.
Over the past week, it was claimed that Ali had promoted terrorist activities against IDF troops operating in central Gaza.
The IDF also stated that “numerous” launches had been identified coming from Rafah towards the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The missiles did not cross Israeli territory but landed in the Gaza Strip.
Eight boats crossing from Rafah to Kerem Shalom were also identified today, and one IDF soldier was “slightly injured.”
The soldier received initial medical attention at the scene.
The IDF also claimed that the terrorist organization continued to fire launches from populated areas in the Rafah area towards the Kerem Shalom crossing to attack IDF troops as well as the crossing itself.
The news comes after the IDF killed Hamas terrorist Ebrahim Biari, commander of the Jabalia central battalion.
It was hit by IDF fighter jets during an Israeli airstrike on the terrorist stronghold in October last year.
The IDF also said Biari was one of the Hamas leaders responsible for sending militants to carry out the deadly October 7 attacks in Israel.
Hamas had claimed that the Israeli airstrike claimed the lives of more than 50 people in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
But Israel’s IDF responded, stating that the explosion was a “large-scale attack against terrorists and terrorist infrastructure.”
Israel is said to have already successfully eliminated several gunmen hiding in Rafah as it continues its “precise” operations to take down the Hamas terrorist group.
The IDF launched its assault on Rafah on Tuesday and the mayor of Rafah has already stated that his city, a nest of terror, is on the “brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” while the city “resonates with the screams” of the dead.
So far, about 20 Hamas operatives are believed to have been hit and three “significant” tunnel shafts have been located, the Israeli military said.
The disturbing trio of tunnels were discovered by brave Israeli troops as the search for the remaining hostages continues.
Why is Israel invading Rafah?
Israeli tanks and forces invaded eastern Rafah on May 7, despite ongoing ceasefire talks with Hamas.
So why does Israel want to attack the southern Gaza city?
Israel says Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip after claiming its army has already dismantled 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We will enter Rafah because we have no other option.
“We will destroy the Hamas battalions there and complete all war objectives, including the return of all our hostages.”
The country believes that Hamas has five battalions in Rafah and that its ground forces must intervene to destroy them.
Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, known as “Gaza’s Bin Laden”, is also believed to be hiding in tunnels beneath the city.
Around 1.4 million Palestinians – more than half of Gaza’s population – have sought refuge in Rafah, having fled cities, refugee camps and villages further north.
Israel has said it will evacuate civilians from the city before invading, but the United States and aid groups have warned it could be a bloodbath.
The Israeli military claims to have purchased 40,000 tents, each holding 10 to 12 people, to house Palestinians relocated from the city before the assault.
Troops have also been conducting “targeted raids” on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing before a full-scale offensive begins inside the city.
Israel launched what it called a “limited” ground offensive in Rafah earlier in the week, despite international objections.
Rafah Mayor Ahmed Al-Sofi sent a desperate appeal to the world asking for the assault to be stopped dead after just three days of the planned six-week invasion.
He said: “The streets of the city echo with cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart and homes reduced to rubble.
“We are on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.”
Before the attacks began, Israel issued an order for 100,000 people to evacuate part of the city and move to humanitarian camps set up by the IDF.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under intense pressure from his own people and governments around the world over how to proceed to end the war.
Netanyahu has stated that the assault on Rafah is essential since it will serve Israel’s two objectives: the elimination of Hamas and the return of the hostages.
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