7 IDF reservists wounded, 4 of them seriously, in blast in southern Gaza
Truck driver lightly hurt as barrage of 15 rockets fired from Gaza at south; IDF kills Hamas economy minister in airstrike; bodies of 80 Palestinians said returned to Strip
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Seven reservists were wounded, including four seriously, during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The troops, of the 205th “Iron Fist” Reserve Armored Brigade’s 9215th Battalion, were taken to a hospital in Israel for treatment.
According to an initial probe, the troops were wounded by an explosive device or grenade hurled at them by a Hamas operative.
Four of the reservists were seriously wounded, two were listed in moderate condition, and one was lightly injured.
Also on Monday morning, an Israeli truck driver was lightly injured by a rocket impact near Kibbutz Re’ím, as terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched a barrage at southern Israel.
The barrage of some 15 rockets fired from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza was the latest in a series of attacks, bringing the total number of rockets fired at Israel from the Strip since Friday to around 40.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, several of the 15 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, but others impacted the Re’im and Gama Junction area.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was taking a man aged 37, a truck driver, to a hospital in good condition after he was hurt by a rocket impact near Re’im.
On Sunday, following the repeated rocket attacks on Israel from Khan Younis, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the area, saying that it would “forcefully operate” against terror groups there.
IDF: Key Hamas battalion commander killed in strike on Gaza school
The commander of Hamas’s Sheikh Radwan Battalion, known in the IDF as the al-Furqan Battalion, was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Monday.
Jaber Aziz, the commander of the battalion which is part of Hamas’s Gaza City Brigade, was killed in an airstrike against a school in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood a day earlier, the IDF said.
The IDF said on Sunday that it struck two Hamas command and control rooms embedded within the Hassan Salama and Nasr schools in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan.
Citing intelligence information, the IDF said Aziz was killed in the strike on the Hassan Salama school, alongside other operatives.
Aziz had served in the role of commander of the Sheikh Radwan Battalion since 2020, after previously serving as the deputy commander of the battalion. He also previously headed the Zeitoun Battalion, according to the IDF.
The IDF said he took a “significant part” in planning the October 7 onslaught, leading the preparations and training in his battalion.
Aziz himself participated in raiding Israeli communities on October 7, according to the IDF.
During the war, Aziz directed numerous attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza, and against Israeli civilians, and the IDF said his killing was a “significant blow” to Hamas’s capabilities.
Hamas economy minister killed in strike
Also on Monday, the IDF said it had killed Hamas’s economy minister in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip a day earlier.
According to the IDF, Abd al-Fattah al-Zari’i also served as an operative in Hamas’s manufacturing division.
The IDF said the manufacturing division works to “increase Hamas’s weapons capabilities, including by exchanging information with other terror organizations across the Middle East.”
مكتب العمل الحكومي في غزة: ننعى الشهيد المهندس عبد الفتاح الزريعي وكيل وزارة الاقتصاد الوطني في قطاع غزة الذي ارتقى إلى العلا بعد استهدافه من طائرات الاحتلال بشكل مباشر، حيث استشهد هو ووالدته الكريمة وفي هذا المقام فإننا نزف قائداً حُكومياً، حيث عمل عملاً متواصلاً، وله مسيرة… pic.twitter.com/fMdDFNGM8m
— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) August 4, 2024
Al-Zari’i, according to the IDF, also played a “significant role in directing Hamas’s efforts to seize control of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” as well as managing Hamas-controlled markets.
Additionally, he was responsible for the distribution of fuel, gas, and funds for “terror activities,” the military added.
Palestinian media reported that the strike killed al-Zari’i took place in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, and his mother was also killed in the attack.
80 bodies said returned to Gaza
Palestinian media outlets on Monday morning reported that more than 80 bodies were returned by Israeli authorities to the Gaza Strip.
Amid the war in Gaza, the IDF has taken for identification bodies suspected of being those of hostages, returning them after confirming they do not belong to any captives that were abducted by Hamas on October 7.
تجهيز وحفر القبر الجماعي في المقبرة التركية بخانيونس لدفن 80 جثة قام الاحتلال بتسليمها بعد وقت دام على احتجازها pic.twitter.com/ezebmP2c5f
— Alhadath Newspaper|صحيفة الحدث الفلسطيني (@Alhadath_news1) August 5, 2024
At least 39 of the remaining 111 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 have been confirmed dead.
The war in Gaza was sparked when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7 to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 39,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. The toll, which cannot be independently verified, does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed about 15,000 combatants in battle as of May, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists killed inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
