IDF says it hit meeting of elite Hamas commanders near Gaza port; six reported dead
Military says targets included Nukhba Force company commander, three platoon commanders and several other terror operatives; Hamas-run civil defense says a minor among the dead
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The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday struck what it said was a meeting of Hamas commanders and elite operatives in Gaza City, in an attack that the Hamas-run civil defense agency killed six and wounded 14.
The military said the strike, near the city’s port, targeted commanders and members of Hamas’s Nukhba Force, which led the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel that started the war in Gaza.
One of the terrorists targeted on Tuesday had himself invaded Israel during the onslaught, according to the IDF.
The military said the targets included a Nukhba company commander, three platoon commanders and several other terror operatives who were planning attacks against Israeli troops operating in the Strip.
The results of the strike would be released once they were verified, the IDF said.
Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP that at least six were killed, “including a child, and a large number were wounded, as a result of an Israeli raid on tents of displaced people in Gaza port.”
Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said it had received five bodies and 13 injured, one of whom died later in the evening.
Eyewitness Mohammed Alghoul told AFP: “Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at the ‘Sweet and Bitter’ cafe on the fishermen’s port west of Gaza City.”
Hamas issued a statement condemning the strike, saying it exemplified Israel’s “blatant disregard for all calls for a ceasefire issued by mediators and guarantor states, including President Trump’s call yesterday,” apparently referring to comments the US leader made during a Fox News interview that Israel should not be striking in Gaza right now, and that Hamas was “giving up their guns.”
Hamas said on Tuesday it remained committed to the US-backed Gaza disarmament deal, a day after a source told The Times of Israel that the Board of Peace is considering abandoning its original framework, which would have seen the terror group disarming in phases, in favor of an all-at-once process supported by Israel.
On Sunday, an IDF strike killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad company commander who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught and abducted an Israeli hostage.
The military justified that strike amid the ceasefire by saying that Ra’i had recently been advancing attacks on troops and civilians, though the army has also acknowledged that it’s engaged in a campaign to kill all those who took part in the October 7 atrocities.
The Times of Israel Community.