Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) have announced that they had ‘eliminated’ the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Rawhi Mushtaha, and two other portfolio holders in an airstrike three months ago.
“In a joint IDF and ISA strike in the Gaza Strip, the following terrorists were eliminated: Rawhi Mushtaha, the Head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip; Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio on Hamas’ political bureau and Hamas’ Labor Committee; and Sami Oudeh, Commander of Hamas’ General Security Mechanism,” they said in a statement amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East further fanned by the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
All about the strike
They said during a precise IDF and ISA intelligence-based strike, IAF fighter jets struck and eliminated the terrorists while they were hiding in a fortified and equipped underground compound in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli Army has been targetitng the leaders of Iran-backed groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon since October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel.
The compound served as a Hamas command and control centre and enabled senior operatives to remain inside of it for extended periods of time. The compound was managed by senior members of Hamas’ General Security Mechanism and functioned as a hideout for the Hamas leadership, led by Mushtaha.
The Israeli military said following the strike on the compound and the elimination of the terrorists, Hamas did not announce their deaths to prevent the loss of morale and functioning of its terror operatives.
Who was Rawhi Mushtaha
Rawhi Mushtaha was one of Hamas’ most senior operatives and had a direct impact on decisions relating to Hamas’ force deployment. Mushtaha was involved in military decisions while also acting as the Head of Hamas Civil Governance in the Gaza Strip and holding the Prisoners Affairs Portfolio. He also formerly held the finance portfolio.
Mushtaha, alongside Yahya Sinwar, established Hamas’ General Security Mechanism. They served a prison sentence together in an Israeli jail. Mushtaha was considered to be the most senior figure in the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, and during the war maintained civil control of the Hamas regime, while simultaneously engaging in terrorist activity against Israel. Mushtaha was Sinwar’s right-hand man and one of his closest associates.
IRGC Advisor Killed In Damascus Airstrike
Majid Divani, a senior military advisor with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was critically wounded during an Israeli airstrike on Damascus three days ago, according to Iranian news media outlets.
A war monitor said seven pro-Iran fighters were wounded early Monday in an Israeli strike near a Syrian border crossing with Lebanon, where Israel is bombing Hezbollah targets.
Latest escalations
An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders. Israel has been pounding areas of the country where the militant group has a strong presence since late September, but has rarely struck in the heart of the capital.
There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit an apartment in central Beirut not far from the United Nations headquarters, the prime minister’s office and parliament. Hezbollah’s civil defense unit said seven of its members were killed.
The strike came after at least eight Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where Israel announced the start of what it says is a limited ground incursion earlier this week. The region was meanwhile bracing for Israeli retaliation following an Iranian ballistic missile attack.
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