TEL AVIV (Agencies): The IDF stated on Motzei Shabbos that IDF fighter jets carried out an airstrike on Thursday on a terror command center hidden within the humanitarian area in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza that was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.
The operation, carried out “to remove an immediate threat,” was conducted under the direction of the Shin Bet, IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Southern Command.
A number of terrorists were eliminated in the strike, including two Islamic Jihad battalion commanders.
One was named as Abdallah Khatib, commander of the Islamic Jihad’s Southern Deir al-Balah Battalion, who led the battalion’s terror acts during the October 7 massacre in Israel and later carried out terror attacks against Israel, including firing mortars and anti-tank missiles.
The second commander was Hatem Abu Aljidian, the Islamic Jihad’s Eastern Deir al-Balah Battalion commander. He led and carried out terror attacks against IDF soldiers during the ground war in Gaza.