IDF says strike in Rafah killed Islamic Jihad commander who helped lead Oct. 7 attack

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

This graphic released by the Israel Defense Forces on May 4, 2024, shows Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Iman Zareb, who the military and Shin Bet said was killed in a strike in Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)
This graphic released by the Israel Defense Forces on May 4, 2024, shows Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Iman Zareb, who the military and Shin Bet said was killed in a strike in Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)

A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in the terror group’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier today, the military and Shin Bet security agency say.

Iman Zareb, according to the IDF and Shin Bet, “commanded and directed” several attacks and attempted infiltration into Israel in recent years.

Zareb commanded Islamic Jihad’s elite forces during the October 7 onslaught, specifically during the attack on the southern community of Sufa and the nearby military post, the IDF says.

The IDF says that in recent days, Zareb from a hideout, prepared Islamic Jihad’s fighters for the military’s planned offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah.

Alongside Zareb, another two Islamic Jihad members were killed in the strike on the hideout apartment, the military adds.

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