IDF says it killed commander of PIJ’s Northern Gaza Brigade in airstrike

The IDF confirms killing the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Northern Gaza Brigade in an airstrike earlier today.

The strike targeting Ali al-Razayneh in the Strip’s center came as a response to an overnight attack on troops in northern Gaza, during which a reservist officer was seriously wounded by Palestinian gunmen, the military says.

The army says al-Razayneh was responsible for Islamic Jihad’s operatives and defenses in the Strip’s north, was a member of the terror group’s top military council, and was also “in charge of coordination with the Hamas terror organization to advance and carry out terror attacks against IDF troops.”

Additionally, the IDF says that al-Razayneh oversaw the issue of hostages held by Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza, “and since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, the terrorist worked to rehabilitate the Northern Gaza Brigade.”

צה"ל ושב"כ חיסלו את מפקד חטיבת צפון הרצועה בג'יהאד האיסלאמי הפלסטיני

צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו מוקדם יותר היום וחיסלו את המחבל עלי רזאינה, ששימש כמפקד חטיבת צפון רצועת עזה של ארגון הטרור גא"פ, זאת בתגובה להפרת הסכם הפסקת האש הלילה.

במסגרת תפקידו, היה אחראי על פריסת מחבלי ארגון הטרור… pic.twitter.com/F5GgBETk5X

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 4, 2026

The IDF also says that it can now confirm that a commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force was killed in a strike it announced earlier today.

The strike that killed Bilal Abu Assi, a Nukhba Force platoon commander who led the invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz during the onslaught, was also conducted in response to the overnight attack on troops, according to the army.