Hamas leader who led assault on Israeli communities killed, claims Israel

The commander of Hamas’ commando forces who oversaw one of the attacks on villages in southern Israel last week has reportedly been killed, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

“Ali Qadi led the inhumane, barbaric October 7 massacre of civilians in Israel. We just eliminated him. All Hamas terrorists will meet the same fate,” the IDF wrote on ‘X’.

According to information from the IDF, Ali Qadi, a company commander in the so-called Nukhba unit, was assassinated by a drone attack as a result of intelligence gathering by the Military Intelligence Directorate and Shin Bet security agency.

According to the IDF, Qadi was released to the Gaza Strip as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap after being detained by Israel in 2005 for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli civilians.

Israeli soldiers, tanks, and weapons have been stationed close to the Gaza border in retaliation for Hamas terror strikes in Israel as they get ready to launch a full-scale combat invasion against the terrorist organisation.

Images from the Gaza border show tanks firing shells in the direction of the Gaza Strip. In addition, soldiers are visible loading artillery shells into howitzers.

Additionally, in preparation for a comprehensive military offensive against Hamas, Israeli infantry units have begun advancing towards the Gaza border.

Israel’s top military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, urged Palestinians in the northern part of the enclave to leave because Israel will “attack with great force” in the upcoming phases of its conflict with Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

“We are deployed and strongly prepared for the next stages of the war,” Hagari said in a press conference, as per The Times of Israel.

“We are preparing the forces, going over plans, prepared in all arenas, south, north, and center,” he said.

“We are focused on Gaza but are widely deployed [across the country] that allows us to operate simultaneously in all arenas.”

According to Hagari, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian inhabitants have fled from northern Gaza to southern Gaza as a result of IDF threats that the region would soon be brutally attacked.

“There are still citizens who have not yet evacuated. Anyone who chooses not to evacuate puts himself and his family in danger. We will attack with great force in the areas that have been evacuated,” he said.

Hagari says Hamas is under pressure and trying to prevent Palestinian civilians from evacuating, “because the organization’s leaders are hiding beneath them.”

Israel’s warning was deemed “dangerous and deeply troubling” by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who asked Israel to “reconsider”.

In a New York Times editorial piece, Guterres emphasised that such a demand for a mass evacuation on such short notice may have disastrous humanitarian ramifications.

Over 120 citizens are being held hostage by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, according to the IDF. The Israeli Defence Forces reported on Saturday that the Hamas terror strikes on Israel have resulted in 1300 fatalities and more than 3000 injuries.

According to the Israeli Air Force, the IDF is still trying to relocate Gaza Strip civilians in order to safeguard them there. The IDF said that in an effort to lessen the injury to non-combatants, a call was issued to Gazan citizens through a variety of different channels. According to the IDF, Hamas terrorists are concealing themselves in structures used for civilian use and beneath residences in Gaza City.

According to the Israel Defence Forces, infantry units and tanks carried out “localised raids” into the Gaza Strip on Friday to search for missing Israelis and clear the region of suspected terrorists. This was likely a prelude to a larger incursion in reaction to the attack by Hamas.

(With agency inputs)