IDF kills Hamas commanders responsible for Oct. 7 massacre on Kibbutz Be’eri
IDF and Shin Bet chiefs tour Khan Younis and tell soldiers: ‘Advance forcefully.’
The Israeli army and Shin Bet security succeeded in eliminating two Hamas commanders responsible for carrying out the massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, in which some 130 Israelis were killed, the IDF stated on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, the two security services’ commanders, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar visited Israeli troops fighting in the town of Khan Younis over the weekend.
Together with the commander of the Southern Command and the head of the Intelligence Directorate, they entered Hamas tunnels deep inside the city and met commando soldiers who are fighting in the area under the command of Brig.-Gen. Dan Goldfus, commander of the 98th Division.
Halevi expressed his appreciation for the soldiers in the field. “You have a huge advantage over those who fight you,” he said.
“No one here in the entire Gaza Strip is on your level, not on a personal or institutional level, not regarding equipment, nor abilities, nor training, so every time you receive a command, advance with force.”
On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike, directed by Military Intelligence, supplied by the Shin Bet killed the commander of Hamas' Nuseirat Battalion Ismail Siraj and one of his deputies, Ahmad Wahba.
The Nuseirat Battalion carried out significant raids in Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, especially targeting Kibbutz Be’eri. The battalion also attacked IDF troops with anti-tank missiles and drones.
Siraj previously served as a commander of Hamas’ elite Nukhba unit and was active in the group’s rocket production operations.
Wahba served in a variety of operational and staff positions in the past, including in the terror group’s training program, and was actively involved in attempted terror attacks against Israel.
He was only recently promoted to the battalion’s deputy commander after the IDF eliminated its previous commander, Abd al-Rahman, during the early weeks of the war.
The Israeli army also announced the death of an IDF officer while fighting Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the Israeli soldier death toll from ground operations to 176.
The officer was identified as Lt.-Col. Roee Yohay Yosef Mordechay (31) of Tel Aviv, who served as a commander at Nahal Brigades' training base.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
