Gaza: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday it had destroyed Nasim Abu Ajina, a commander of the northern brigade of Palestinian movement Hamas.
“Yesterday, based on IDF and ISA [Israel Securities Authority’s] intelligence, IDF fighter jets struck the Commander of the Beit Lahia Battalion of Hamas’ Northern Brigade, Nasim Abu Ajina, who directed the massacre on October 7th in the [kibbutz of] Kibbutz Erez and [the moshav of] Moshav Netiv HaAsara,” the IDF said in a statement.
In the past, Abu Ajina commanded Hamas’ aerial capabilities and took part in the development of drones and paragliders of the movement, the Israeli military added.
The IDF also destroyed a house of Hamas Political Bureau Deputy Chairman Saleh al-Arouri in the West Bank, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Moreover, the Israeli military killed a man suspected of entering Israel from the Gaza Strip, the newspaper added.
In total, the IDF said its combat forces had struck approximately 300 targets over the past 24 hours, including anti-tank missile posts, rocket launch posts and Hamas’ compounds inside underground tunnels.
On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The escalation of the conflict has resulted in thousands of people killed and injured.
