From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
IDF: Senior officer in Hamas’s general security killed in Israeli airstrike
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A senior officer in Hamas’s general security apparatus was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City earlier today, the military and Shin Bet announce.
The strike killed Akram Bassam Shaaban Yassin, who is identified by the IDF and Shin Bet as a top member of the apparatus.
The security apparatus, according to the military, is a clandestine Hamas body responsible for security for top Hamas officials, communications between them, coordinating their meetings, and transporting them between emergency sites.
The mechanism is also responsible for producing intelligence assessments, “which assists the organization’s senior leadership in decision-making and in carrying out terror plots against the State of Israel,” the IDF adds.
The military says his killing continues an “ongoing effort to target senior officials in the apparatus and weaken its capabilities in the Gaza Strip.”
In June, the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy struck and killed several top commanders in the security apparatus.
The Times of Israel Community.