The Israeli military has reportedly killed a number of top Hamas commanders who were responsible for last week’s terror attack in Israel.
First up is Ali Qadi, a company commander of Hamas’ “Nukhba” commando force. He was killed early Saturday during a joint operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Securities Authority (ISA).
“Based on precise IDF and ISA intelligence, IDF aircraft killed Ali Qadi, a company commander of the Hamas ‘Nukhba’ commando force, who led the terror attack in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip last weekend,” the IDF confirmed in a Telegram post.
Included with the post was a link to a video of the strike that killed him.
Next is Billal Al Kedra, whom the IDF describes as “the Nukhba commander of the forces in southern Khan Yunis, who was responsible for the Kibbutz Nirim massacre.”
“IDF warplanes, under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet, killed last night in the Gaza Strip, Bilal al-Kedra, the commander of the Nakhaba force in the South Khan Yunis battalion of the terrorist organization Hamas, who was responsible for the murderous raid on Kibbutz Nirim and Nir Oz,” the IDF announced in a tweet early Saturday morning.
Below is video footage of the strike that killed him:
מטוסי קרב של צה”ל, בהכוונה מודיעינית של שב”כ, חיסלו אמש ברצועת עזה את בילל אל קדרה, מפקד כוח נח׳בה בגדוד דרום חאן יונס של ארגון הטרור חמאס, שהיה אחראי על הפשיטה הרצחנית בקיבוצים נירים וניר עוז. בנוסף, חוסלו פעילים נוספים בארגון הטרור חמאס וכן בג’יהאד האסלאמי הפלסטיני>> pic.twitter.com/HwPIRpZCFA
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 15, 2023
Next is Merad Aby Merad, the leader of the Hamas Aerial System in Gaza.
“Last night (Friday), IDF fighter jets conducted wide-scale strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. These included dozens of Hamas terror targets as well as ‘Nukhba’ terrorist operatives that were in a staging ground in the Gaza Strip. ‘Nukhba’ terrorist operatives were one of the leading forces that led the infiltration into Israel last Saturday,” the IDF announced in an additional Telegram post.
“Furthermore, over the last day, IDF fighter jets struck operational headquarters used by the Hamas terrorist organization from which the terrorist organization’s aerial activity was managed. During the strike, IDF fighter jets killed Merad Abu Merad who was the head of the Hamas Aerial System in Gaza City, and was largely responsible for directing terrorists during the massacre on Saturday,” the post continues.
These deaths signal that Israel is closer to launching a full ground assault on Hamas.
“IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed throughout the country and are ready to elevate their readiness for the upcoming stages of the war, with a strong emphasis on significant ground operations,” the IDF said, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
According to NBC News, the IDF has “massed military personnel and equipment at the border” and “Saturday it was preparing to expand its aerial attack with ‘an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land.'”
“No large-scale ground offensive into Gaza has been announced, but Israel’s military has been telling civilians in Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza to go south. The United Nations says that amounts to 1 million people being told to leave in densely populated Gaza, which is 139 square miles,” NBC News notes.
The good news is that the Israeli military greatly outnumbers Hamas. According to The Guardian, the military added 300,000 reservists to its already 170,000-strong standing army on Monday. Meanwhile, Hamas has only around 30,000 fighters.
“Such an overwhelming ratio should give the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) a high chance of capturing the area of the Gaza Strip, which includes its principal urban centre, Gaza City, from which its leadership ordered 1.1 million Palestinians to evacuate on Friday,” The Guardian notes.
That said, Hamas has the team advantage because of its “sophisticated network of tunnels across Gaza” and because Gaza is densely populated.
This is how Hamas fires their rockets from Gaza, deep under the tunnels. pic.twitter.com/C8uyLi6mQw
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 9, 2023
“Hamas has long been ready for an Israeli incursion, digging a sophisticated network of tunnels across Gaza intended to allow its forces to survive aerial bombardment. Some tunnels previously discovered by Israel, because they went under the border fence, are as deep as 70 metres,” The Guardian explains.
“The heavily urbanised terrain – the Gaza Strip is one of the world’s most densely populated areas – will also favour the defenders as they try to fight back. Each remaining building will have to be fought over, and heavy mining could further impede the Israelis if Hamas copies the technique used by Russia to blunt Ukraine’s counteroffensive.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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