IDF Confirms 5 Senior Commanders Killed in the Gaza Strip

By Yoni Weiss

The IDF confirmed Sunday that during combat in the Gaza Strip prior to the pause, IDF aircraft directed by IDF and ISA intelligence eliminated, among others, five senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip.

Ahmed Ghandour – Commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade. As commander of one of the five regional brigades in the Gaza Strip, Ghandour was responsible for directing all of Hamas’s terror activities in the northern Gaza Strip. He initiated, promoted, and approved terrorist activities and attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops. These included shootings, bombings, rocket launches, and terror attacks in Yehudah and Shomron. He was a leading figure in the planning and execution of the Oct. 7 massacre.

Aiman Siam – Head of Hamas’s Rockets Array. For approximately 15 years, Siam was a senior figure responsible for Hamas’s rocket forces, weapon inventories, and the guiding and directing of all of Hamas’s rocket launches into Israel. With extensive experience in Hamas’s military wing, Siam was a significant source of knowledge and active in previous conflicts between Hamas and Israel.

Wael Rajeb – Deputy Commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade. Rajeb was responsible for the brigade’s operations. In the past, Rajeb was the commander of the Hamas police in the northern Gaza Strip and later was the commander of the Beit Lahia Battalion. He was a senior Hamas operative, connected to the brigade’s battalion commanders.

Farsan Halifa – Senior operative in Hamas’s Yehudah and Shomron headquarters, head of the Tulkarm Committee. In the past, Halifa aided and was close to senior Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. More recently, he was involved in the development of battalions and terror cells in the Nur Shams camp. Halifa was eliminated during the strike in which Ahmed Ghandour and Aiman Siam were also killed.

Rafet Salman – Commander of the Combat Assistance Unit in the northern Gaza Strip, a senior operative of the Gaza City Brigade. In the past, he served as a deputy commander of the brigade in which he developed offensive capabilities for attacks against Israel. In this position, he was part of the planning of the paraglider’s infiltration into Israel carried out by the Gaza City Brigade on Oct. 7.