IDF says Hamas weapons production commander killed in recent central Gaza strike

A commander in Hamas’s “weapons production headquarters” was killed in a recent airstrike in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, the IDF announces.

Bashar Thabat headed a section in the development and projects department of the weapons production headquarters, according to the IDF, and was responsible for Hamas’s “research and development processes in the weapons production headquarters, which works to restore and build up the arsenal of weapons for terror groups in the Strip.”

He was killed in a strike on July 10, the military says.

Meanwhile, the IDF says it has expanded its offensive against Hamas in Gaza City, with the 98th Division launching “targeted attacks” on terror infrastructure and cells of operatives in the past day.

In the Strip’s far north, the military says the 99th and 162nd divisions continue to uncover and destroy Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels.

In the Beit Hanoun area, troops of the Givati Brigade killed several operatives during an exchange of fire, the army says.

In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says the Gaza Division destroyed dozens of terror infrastructures and located tunnel shafts.

Also in the past day, the Israeli Air Force hit over 75 targets in the Gaza Strip, including cells of operatives, buildings used by terror groups, and other infrastructure, the IDF says.

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip reported yesterday that 98 Palestinians were killed and 511 were wounded in the previous 48 hours. The tolls cannot be verified and do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.