From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 16, 2025
IDF shares identities of terror operatives it says were killed in northern Gaza strike
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF details the identities of six Palestinian terror operatives it says were killed in airstrikes in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya yesterday, including a terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught.
According to Palestinian media, the strikes killed nine, including journalists.
The IDF says that a first strike targeted two operatives using a drone to advance attacks on troops in Gaza.
“Based on intelligence information regarding the terror activity in the area, it was determined that the drone was in constant use by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organisation, including during its use [on Saturday],” the IDF says.
A second strike was carried out against another group of operatives who collected the drone equipment, according to the military.
The IDF says the strikes killed “several terrorists, including terrorists who were operating under the guise of journalists.”
They are named by the IDF as: Mustafa Mohammed Shaaban Hamed, a Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023; Mahmoud Yahya Rashdi as-Saraj, a member of Hamas’s engineering forces; Bilal Mahmood Fuad Abu Matar, a Hamas operative operating under the guise of a photographer; Mahmoud Imad Hassan Isleem, a member of Hamas’s Zeitoun Battalion, operating under the guise of a journalist; Suheib Bassem Khaled Najar, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative who was released in the recent hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas; and Mohammed Alaa Suhbi al-Jafir, a Hamas operative.
The Times of Israel Community.