The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two additional operatives were killed early today in southern Gaza as they attempted to flee a tunnel complex.
According to the IDF, the militants were struck as they emerged from a tunnel in the Rafah area during an operation coordinated between ground troops and the Air Force. Col. Arik Moyal, commander of the Nahal Brigade, said the strike also killed a Hamas company commander and the son of senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.
Moyal displayed a Tavor assault rifle he said was seized from the militants, identifying it as belonging to Staff Sgt. Or Mizrahi, a Nahal Brigade soldier killed while fighting Hamas gunmen on October 7, 2023. The IDF described the operation as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle Hamas’s remaining tunnel infrastructure and command structure in the Rafah sector.
