An Israeli airstrike killed a top Hamas commander in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the third high-level operative of the Palestinian terrorist group taken out by Israel’s bombardment of the territory in recent days.
Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, on Tuesday said Ayman Nofal, the militant commander, died in the strike.
Nofal is the most high-profile Hamas commander killed since the group’s Oct. 7 terrorist assault that killed 1,3000 Israelis and at least 27 Americans. He was a member of the higher military council of the Qassam Brigades.
Israeli Defense Forces officials say they are targeting Hamas hideouts, infrastructure and command centers throughout Gaza, days after Israel told some 1 million Palestinian civilians to evacuate northern areas of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground offensive.
The IDF said over the weekend that it carried out strikes that killed two other Hamas commanders directly involved in the rampage inside Israel.
Merad Abu Merad, who headed Hamas’ aerial system, and Ali Qadi, a company commander of the terrorists’ commando force, were killed in the strikes Saturday.
President Biden has dispatched America’s two largest aircraft carrier battle groups to the region in support of the IDF.
With the IDF airstrikes as a backdrop, a humanitarian crisis continues to build in Gaza. Palestinian medics warn that thousands could die as packed hospitals run desperately low on fuel and other supplies.
The Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted. That exceeds the death toll from the 2014 Gaza War, which lasted more than six weeks.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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