IDF says it killed several terrorists including head of Hamas aerial forces in intense airstrikes and in on-the-ground clashes; no Israeli casualties reported in limited incursion
Israeli warplanes pounded northern Gaza overnight Friday, hitting more than 150 underground tunnels and bunkers of the Hamas terror group as tanks and other forces pushed into the Strip in a limited incursion, the military said.
Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours after nightfall Friday. The Israel Defense Forces said a number of Hamas terrorists had been killed in the airstrikes and in several clashes with troops inside Gaza.
Among those killed was the head of Hamas’s so-called aerial array Issam Abu Rukbeh.A statement from the IDF and Shin Bet intelligence service said that Abu Rukbeh was responsible for managing the terror group’s drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, paragliders, aerial detection systems and air defenses.
The military said that he played a role in the planning and execution of the October 7 onslaught by Hamas by directing the terrorists who entered southern Israel on paragliders, as well as the drone attacks on IDF observation posts.
It also said it killed the commander of Hamas’s naval forces of the Gaza City Brigade, Rateb Abu Sahiban, in an overnight airstrike.
The IDF said Abu Sahiban planned and commanded a Hamas infiltration attempt via the sea on October 24th, which was foiled by Israeli Navy forces.
There were no reports of Israeli casualties and the ground forces, including infantry, combat engineering forces and tanks, remained inside Gaza on Saturday morning, operating deeper into the Hamas-run territory than previous limited incursions.
Hamas said it had thwarted Israel’s overnight ground incursion, saying it had used anti-tank Kornet rockets and mortar shelling to repel the attack and claimed to have inflicted casualties among Israeli troops. The terror group did not provide evidence.
The IDF released footage of the ground forces operating in the Gaza Strip overnight and Saturday morning.
The military said it would soon hold assessments as to what the next stages will be, either expanding ground operations further, pausing the ongoing raid, or changing to another set of plans.
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