From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 19, 2025
IDF says it struck dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza including major tunnel that held hostages
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF says it struck dozens of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, including a major tunnel system, in response to this morning’s attack on troops in the Rafah area.
Among the targets hit by fighter jets, drones, and artillery shelling were weapon depots, cells of operatives who were identified in “real-time,” and other infrastructure used by the terror group, according to the military.
The IDF says it also targeted Hamas operatives and field commanders in central Gaza. Palestinian and Arab media reported that a strike in central Gaza killed Yahya al-Mabhouh, a commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force.
One airstrike carried out by fighter jets a short while ago, which involved over 120 munitions, hit a major Hamas tunnel, spanning some six kilometers )some 3.7 miles), in the southern Gaza Strip, the military says.
According to the IDF, the tunnel was used by Hamas for advancing attacks on Israel, and it was previously used by the terror group to hold hostages.
Strikes are carried out against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, October 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
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