We just eliminated Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative.
Nofal was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence.
Nofal directed many attacks against Israeli civilians and besides being one of the most dominant figures in the… pic.twitter.com/t686L6gSuN
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023
(The Hill) An airstrike in central Gaza killed a top Hamas commander Tuesday as Israel ramps up its targeted attacks on the militant group’s hideouts, command centers and infrastructure.
Israeli forces killed Ayman Nofal, the most high-profile militant known to have been killed so far in the war, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. The Hamas military wing also confirmed Nofal’s death, according to The Associated Press.
Nofal led Hamas’s militant activities in the central Gaza Strip and was associated with the group’s “joint operations” room that coordinated between Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other militants in the territory. He was killed when Israel sent a strike into the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza, according to the AP.
The Israeli military said it is ratcheting up targeted attacks against Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S. and a number of other governments. Its attacks on Israel last week killed 1,400 people, including hundreds of civilians in their homes, at a bus stop and at a music festival.
Israel has responded with a bombardment of Gaza that has killed nearly 2,800 Palestinians and wounded thousands of others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Nearly two-thirds of those killed were children, a ministry official reportedly said.
“When we see a target, when we see something moving that is Hamas, we’ll take care of it,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman.
Israel ordered people in Gaza to travel to the southern half of the territory last week in an announcement widely seen as anticipating a ground assault.
Many people in Gaza lack the ability to travel south, and Hamas has told residents not to leave and to stay in their homes.
