IDF says it killed 6 top members of Hamas naval commando forces in recent Gaza strikes

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Six top members of Hamas’s naval commando forces were killed in a series of recent operations in the Gaza Strip, the military and Shin Bet announce.

The Hamas naval commanders were targeted during the ongoing offensive in Gaza, which began in mid-May. The military says the operations were led by the Israeli Navy, the Intelligence Directorate, the Southern Command and the Shin Bet.

The IDF says the Hamas operatives had advanced sea-borne attacks against troops and Israeli civilians, and some had participated in the planning of the October 7 onslaught.

They are named by the IDF and Shin Bet as: Ramzi Salah, the naval forces commander in northern Gaza; Jamal al-Baba, the naval forces commander in central Gaza; Ratab Abu Sahiban, the naval forces commander in Gaza City; Omar Abu Jalala, the naval forces commander in Khan Younis; Mohammed Qashta, the naval forces commander in Rafah; and Ahmad Ali, the successor to Abu Sahiban as commander of the naval forces in Gaza City.

The IDF already announced Salah’s death earlier this month, in a strike on a cafe that reportedly killed 24 people.

Footage released by the IDF on July 11, 2025, shows strikes on Hamas naval commanders in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

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