Islamic Jihad commander who led Oct. 7 assault on Sufa killed in Rafah strike — IDF
Military and Shin Bet say Iman Zareb was preparing for looming Israeli offensive in southern Gaza city when hit by airstrike, had tried to carry out attacks inside Israel in past
A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander who led the terror group’s elite forces into Israel during the October 7 massacre was killed in an Israeli airstrike Saturday, defense officials said.
Iman Zareb, a senior figure in the Iran-backed group’s Rafah Brigade, was killed along with two other Islamic Jihad fighters in an Israeli bombardment on a “hideout apartment” in Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet Security Service said in a joint statement.
According to Israel, Zareb had been leading efforts in recent days to prepare Islamic Jihad fighters to confront Israeli forces once they launch an expected push into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, considered to be the Hamas terror group’s last major redoubt.
Israel has repeatedly indicated it could launch the offensive imminently should talks for a truce and hostage deal talks break down.
Palestinians said three bodies were pulled from the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike in Rafah, but there was little coverage of the strike or its aftermath.
Grainy aerial footage published by the army showed a building blowing up after being hit by a bomb dropped by a fighter jet.
On October 7, Zareb led a group of Islamic Jihad commandos in an assault on Kibbutz Sufa and a nearby military post, the IDF said.
At least 10 people were killed when terrorists on motorbikes infiltrated the kibbutz and adjacent post, which sit some 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the eastern edge of Rafah. During the assault, terrorists went home to home and opened fire on people and at least one ambulance with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
The kibbutz’s security squad managed to engage the gunmen until military reinforcements could arrive, averting a larger massacre.
Another Go-pro footage of #Hamas militants going house to house in Sufa, near #Gaza, during the October 7 attacks, shooting at civilians inside houses (a civilian can be seen in the living room, and falls after being shot). pic.twitter.com/uLDQ6ZVPv0
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) October 15, 2023
Though the October 7 onslaught was led by Hamas, units from smaller terrorist groups, including Islamic Jihad, were also among the estimated 3,000 who took part in the brutal killings and kidnappings across southern Israel. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the massacre and another 253 were kidnapped, sparking an Israeli invasion of Gaza aimed at toppling Hamas, which has controlled the enclave for over a decade.
Iran’s main terror proxy in Gaza, Islamic Jihad is considered the second most powerful group in the Strip after Hamas, with thousands of operatives and an extensive arsenal. It is blacklisted as a terror group by the United States, European Union and others.
The Israeli statement alleged that Zareb “commanded and directed” several attacks and various attempted infiltrations into Israel in recent years, without providing details.
There was no immediate comment from Islamic Jihad on the assassination.
Israel says it has killed at least 13,000 fighters inside Gaza, along with around 1,000 killed inside Israel on October 7 and in the days immediately after.
Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry says over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, a figure which cannot be confirmed. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
