Gaza War: Hamas commander who Led October 7 attack killed in air strike, says Israel

According to the Israel Defence Forces, Israel kept up its Gaza offensive in the new year, hitting more of the terror group’s infrastructure and killing a Hamas commander in an airstrike. Adel Mesmah, the commander of Deir al-Balah’s Najaba company, was killed by an Israeli air force fighter jet flown by ground forces in central Gaza. Masmah led Hamas terrorists in their October 7 attack on Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Nirim, where a total of 135 Israelis were killed. Masmeh persisted in spearheading assaults against Israeli forces following Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Ground forces also directed air strikes on a Hamas squad near Khan Yunis launching rockets, and against terrorists who fired a mortar at soldiers. The terrorists in both strikes were eliminated. During the night, Israeli naval forces struck terror infrastructure and other Hamas positions in support of ground forces. Israeli forces attacked a Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad command and control centre in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of northern Gaza. Inside a mosque, numerous weapons were also found by the authorities. On October 7, Hamas attacked Israeli villages close to the Gaza border, killing at least 1,200 people. It is now estimated that Hamas has 129 men, women, children, military, and foreigners in their custody in Gaza. While Israeli police continue to identify dead and look for human remains, some persons are still missing. (With agency inputs)