From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
IDF says it killed Hamas commander who directed attacks on Erez, Netiv Ha’asara
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces says it has killed the commander of Hamas’s Beit Lahiya Battalion, Nisam Abu Ajina, in an overnight airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip.
According to the IDF, Abu Ajina was responsible for commanding the Hamas terrorists who carried out the deadly onslaught at Kibbutz Erez and Netiv Ha’asara on October 7.
The military says he previously commanded Hamas’s aerial forces, and worked on the development of the terror group’s drones and paragliders, used in the October 7 attacks.
צה"ל ושב"כ חיסלו את מפקד גדוד בית לאהיה של ארגון הטרור חמאס.
מטוסי קרב בהכוונת מידע מודיעיני של אמ"ן ושב״כ, חיסלו אמש את מפקד גדוד בית לאהיה בחטיבה הצפונית של חמאס, נסים אבו עג'ינה, אשר שילח את המתקפות הרצחניות של חמאס ב-7 באוקטובר לקיבוץ ארז ולמושב נתיב העשרה >> pic.twitter.com/xFXstgkSQS
— דובר צה״ל אפי דפרין – Effie Defrin (@IDFSpokesperson) October 31, 2023
The IDF says the airstrike was carried out following intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet security agency and Military Intelligence Directorate.
It adds that “his elimination constitutes a significant blow to the Hamas terror group’s efforts to disrupt the IDF’s ground operations” in the Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israel Community.