Senior Hamas Intelligence Official Killed in Airstrike, Terrorists Found in School

By Yoni Weiss

The IDF on Thursday announced the killing of a senior Hamas intelligence official in Gaza following an airstrike conducted early Thursday. IDF troops also detained several terrorists discovered within a local school in Gaza.

The airstrike specifically targeted Yussef Rafik Ahmed Shabat, a key security figure within the military intelligence wing of Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion. The IDF noted that Shabat was actively involved in the Internal Security Department in Beit Hanoun, where he led investigations.

“The targeted killing of Shabat deals a significant blow to Hamas’s investigative capabilities,” stated an IDF spokesperson.

In a related operation in Beit Hanoun, IDF forces engaged a group of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members who had taken refuge inside a school, using civilians as human shields. Prior to storming the school, IDF soldiers urged civilians to evacuate the area to ensure their safety. The operation resulted in several terrorists being killed, while others were apprehended.

Additionally, Israeli officials reported that humanitarian aid continues to flow into Gaza, with the latest shipment consisting of eight truckloads of flour from the World Food Program, which entered through the port of Ashdod.

An official from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) emphasized Israel’s commitment to facilitating humanitarian assistance: “We are prepared to support unlimited amounts of humanitarian aid because our conflict is with Hamas, not the civilians of Gaza.”