From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 22, 2026
IDF says strike on Gaza earlier killed Hamas commander involved in attempts to restore tunnels
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Hamas commander involved in attempts to restore the terror group’s tunnels in Gaza was killed in a strike in the Strip’s center earlier today, the IDF announces.
The strike in Deir al-Balah killed Sharif al-Hasanat, identified by the army as a company commander in the terror group’s Deir al-Balah battalion.
????ELIMINATED: Sharif al-Hasanat, a company commander in Hamas.
Throughout the war, he took part in leading efforts to restore Hamas’ underground infrastructure & recently continued to advance terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.
He posed an immediate threat… pic.twitter.com/bU7PRu6rVz
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 22, 2026
“Throughout the war, the terrorist was involved in leading efforts to restore the underground infrastructure of the Hamas terror organization,” the military says.
The IDF justifies the strike amid the ceasefire by saying that Hasanat had recently been attempting to advance attacks. “The terrorist posed an immediate threat to our forces and was eliminated,” the military adds.
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