IDF kills a top Hamas commander in airstrike in Gaza Strip

Hamas commander for North, Khan Younis Battalion, Taysir Mubasher, has been killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during an airstrike in the Gaza Strip.

In a joint statement released by IDF along with the Shin Bet security agency, Mubasher had earlier served as head of Hamas’ naval forces and even held several posts related to the Palestinian terror group’s weapon manufacturing.

“Mubasher has extensive experience in the military and as a commander, directing terror attacks, and he is considered close to Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing,” the joint statement read.

צה״ל חיסל בהכוונת מידע מודיעיני מדויק של אמ”ן ושב”כ, את מפקד גדוד גזרת צפון חאן יונס של ארגון הטרור חמאס, תיסיר מבאשר. בעברו, שימש כמפקד הכוח הימי של ארגון הטרור והחזיק במספר תפקידים במערך ייצור אמצעי לחימה >> pic.twitter.com/Jl2MnaM4Og

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 25, 2023

The Israeli forces also said Mubasher was behind the deadly 2002 attack at the Atzmona pre-military academy in Gush Katif among other attacks against IDF when Israel occupied the Gaza Strip before 2005, and the Hamas infiltration into Israel via Zikim beach in 2014.

The IDF also said it carried out dozens of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip overnight, including against Hamas tunnels, command centers, weapons storage sites, and mortar and anti-tank missile launch sites.

The Israeli forces also said the strikes targeted war rooms, infrastructure and command centers belonging to Hamas’s so-called emergency operational apparatus.

Hamas’s emergency operational apparatus is responsible for setting up blockades preventing Palestinians from evacuating from northern Gaza to its south, said IDF.

With inputs from agencies