IDF says Hamas sniper behind deadly attacks on troops was killed in airstrike this week

A Hamas sniper behind several deadly attacks on troops in the Gaza Strip during the war was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City on Monday, the military announces.

The Monday strike came in response to an attack by gunmen on troops in southern Gaza’s Rafah the previous day.

According to the IDF, the strike in Gaza City killed Ahmad Hassan, the head of the sniper unit in Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion.

בתגובה להפרה הבוטה של ההסכם במזרח רפיח: צה"ל חיסל מחבל שלקח חלק במתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל במהלך המלחמה

לכל הפרטים:https://t.co/FM1dm9ciWu pic.twitter.com/cmFNEsUwd6

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 11, 2026

Hassan was behind numerous attacks on troops in northern Gaza, and was recently identified as working to advance new attacks, the military says.

The IDF says Hassan was involved in a roadside bomb attack in Beit Hanoun on July 7, 2025, in which five troops were killed — Sgt. First Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin, Staff Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian, Staff Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar, Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, and Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll — and 14 were wounded.

Hassan was also involved in an ambush on April 19, 2025, in which Warrant Officer G’haleb Sliman Alnasasra was killed and five troops were wounded, as well as a sniper attack on April 24, 2025, in which Master Sgt. (res.) Asaf Cafri was killed and three troops were wounded, according to the IDF.

The military issues footage of the strike.

Another strike was carried out yesterday in central Gaza, with the IDF saying it also came in response to a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire deal on Sunday, in which four gunmen emerged from a tunnel in eastern Rafah and opened fire on troops before being killed.