Hamas says Israeli strike in Gaza killed top operative freed in 2011 Shalit deal
No immediate word from military on reported killing of Farah Hamed; IDF confirms launching strikes on Tuesday that it says destroyed weapons depots and rocket-launching site
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The Hamas terror group on Wednesday announced a top member was killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza City.
Farah Hamed was described by Hamas as a “commander and fighter” in the terror group’s military wing, and a member of the “Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank.”
Hamed was a member of the “Silwad cell,” which operated during the Second Intifada and carried out a series of deadly shooting attacks in the West Bank.
Originally from the Ramallah area, Hamed was among the 1,027 Palestinian security prisoners who were released and deported to the Gaza Strip in 2011 as part of the exchange deal for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In May 2024, the head of the cell, who was also released in the Shalit deal, was killed in Rafah.
Hamed was targeted in a strike in Gaza City’s Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood earlier Wednesday, according to Palestinian media.
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately issue a statement on the strike.
عاجل | استشهاد الأسير المحرر المبعد "فرح أحمد حامد" من بلدة سلواد في رام الله؛ جراء قصف الاحتلال في شارع الرشيد بمنطقة الشيخ عجلين، جنوب غرب مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/R63IbUrBtg
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 9, 2026
Earlier in the day, the IDF confirmed launching strikes on Tuesday across Gaza that destroyed three weapon depots and a rocket-launching site.
The military said the weapon depots, belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, were used to store dozens of weapons, including rockets and assault rifles.
Recently, according to the IDF, Hamas operatives were spotted arriving at the weapon depots and using the guns stored there for “guarding and establishing control over the Gaza Strip.”
In addition, the strikes on Tuesday also destroyed a rocket-launching pit that had been used during the war to fire projectiles at Israel, the military said.
The IDF added that it would continue “to operate decisively to degrade the capabilities of terror organizations in the Gaza Strip while thwarting any attempt to rebuild capabilities or possess weapons intended to harm our forces.”
צה״ל ימשיך לפעול בנחישות לגריעת יכולות ארגוני הטרור ברצועת עזה ולסיכול כל ניסיון לשקמן או להחזיק באמצעי לחימה במטרה לפגוע בכוחותינו.
כוחות צה"ל בפיקוד הדרום פרוסים במרחב בהתאם להסכם וימשיכו לפעול להסרת כל איום מיידי pic.twitter.com/nfYp5IcYSG
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 9, 2026
Also Wednesday, Hamas-controlled media outlets in Gaza reported that Obeida al-Eid, a 10-year-old boy, died Tuesday after being shot by IDF troops in the al-Mawasi area of the Strip.
According to the reports, he was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The Times of Israel could not independently verify the report and the IDF did not respond to requests for comment.
#شاهد| صلاة الجنازة على الطفل الشهيد عبيدة أسامة شيخ العيد، الذي ارتقى جراء إصابته بنيران الاحتلال داخل خيام النازحين في مواصي خانيونس pic.twitter.com/kHVI0yapeZ
— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) September 9, 2026
The latest Israeli strikes came as the international community attempts to implement a US-backed plan for ending the Gaza conflict sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. The plan calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, but progress has remained stalled, and the terror group is unlikely to disarm before the Knesset vote later in October.
The Times of Israel Community.