Halevi: Targeted killings key to dismantling Hamas, returning captives

Jerusalem is still working to determine whether Mohammed Deif was killed in Saturday’s strike in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis.

By Joshua Marks, JNS

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Sunday said that targeted strikes on Hamas leadership were a key part of a military pressure campaign that would result in the return of Israeli hostages.

“These targeted killings are one part of the ongoing and ever-changing military pressure the IDF is applying in all parts of the Gaza Strip,” Halevi said at a press conference held at Palmachim Airbase in central Israel.

“Every day, there are many Hamas casualties, [IDF] ground forces that attack with heroism, pilots that strike with great precision and high quality, evacuate wounded from the field, employing great cunning,” he said, adding, “All these are enveloped in high-quality and up-to-date intelligence.”

This, he continued, “is important for the systematic dismantling of the Hamas terrorist organization; it is also very important for the creation of the conditions for the return of the abductees.”

Jerusalem is still working to determine whether Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was killed in Saturday’s strike in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis.

Deif planned and executed the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel, making him a top target for the IDF, along with Gaza terror leader Yahya Sinwar.

Israeli security forces did confirm on Sunday that Deif’s deputy, Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was killed in the strike.

Halevi reiterated on Sunday that the IDF is determined to pursue senior Hamas officials responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre.

“We found him, we will also find the next ones in line,” Halevi said in reference to Deif.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday also reiterated Jerusalem’s commitment to destroying Hamas, a process he said would take years.

“The pursuit of Hamas terrorists will continue for years to come—from the most senior ones to the terrorists in the field. We must remember at any given time—and you were here on Oct. 7—we need to remember what Hamas did to us,” said Gallant.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured on Saturday night “that one way or another, we will reach the entire Hamas leadership.”

Terrorists killed in Rafah, central Gaza

Over the past day, Israeli forces in Gaza’s Rafah city eliminated a terror cell armed with RPGs in close-quarters combat.

The IDF has been conducting operational activities in the last Hamas bastion since early May, taking control of the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, locating many tunnels and weapons and killing numerous terrorists.

In addition, Israeli forces engaged terrorist fighters in the central Gaza Strip.

Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force also struck dozens of terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including eliminating terrorists who were identified observing Israeli forces.

Israeli Naval forces also continue to strike Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, supporting ground forces and striking terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza.