IDF says strike in southern Gaza killed Hamas operative who invaded Israel on Oct. 7

Member of terror group, who military doesn’t name, hit in airstrike after posing ‘immediate threat’ to troops; report finds Hamas used early 2025 truce to train new fighters

The military announced Tuesday that the Israeli Air Force struck and killed a Hamas operative a day earlier, after he crossed the so-called Yellow Line into IDF-controlled territory in southern Gaza and approached troops “in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”

The Israel Defense Forces said the terrorist took part in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities and recently tried to carry out attacks against troops. It did not provide his name.

Additionally, Israeli forces destroyed a Hamas weapons warehouse and a rocket launch shaft in the northern Gaza Strip overnight Monday-Tuesday, the army said.

The warehouse contained dozens of weapons, including more than 20 mortar shells, rocket launchers, explosive devices, Kalashnikov rifles and additional combat equipment, according to the military.

The IDF said the launch shaft and weapons were intended to target troops operating near the Yellow Line as well as Israeli civilians. Troops destroyed them “in order to remove the threat.”

The war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group – the Strip’s de facto government – invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

A hostage-ceasefire deal last October left Israel in control of just over half of the Strip, and Hamas — which has so far refused to disarm — in de facto control of the remainder.

The agreement mostly stopped the fighting, but some clashes have continued on the ground, and the military has conducted airstrikes against some Hamas commanders and operatives – including, on Friday, the group’s leader in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad.

Hamas used early 2025 ceasefire to train new fighters

According to a report published Tuesday by the government-affiliated Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, a Hamas document that the IDF found in Gaza indicates the terror group used a truce early last year to rapidly train and prepare new fighters for renewed combat.

According to the report, the document detailed a seven-day training program held between February 17 and March 1 for 121 new recruits assigned to Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion, while the ceasefire was still in effect.

The early 2025 truce saw Hamas release 33 hostages, eight of whom were dead, while Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners and inmates, including notorious convicted terrorists, and partially withdrew its forces in Gaza.

The agreement had three planned phases, each lasting six weeks, but collapsed after its first.

According to the uncovered Hamas document, recruits underwent training in field combat skills, anti-tank tactics, use of Israeli weapons including M-16 and Tavor rifles, first aid, drone defense and combat documentation, alongside religious and ideological indoctrination sessions.

The report said Hamas also incorporated operational lessons learned from the war into the accelerated training program, which was specifically designed to be completed before the ceasefire expired. According to the report, 116 of the 121 recruits completed the course successfully, including 12 with distinction.

The Meir Amit Center assessed that Hamas used the ceasefire not only to regroup and rest, but as “a critical window” for force buildup and integrating fresh fighters ahead of renewed combat with Israel.

Hamas is suspected of similarly working to rebuild its forces under the current ceasefire, which began last October. An internal IDF intelligence document circulated to political leadership last month warned that Hamas was steadily rebuilding its capabilities in Gaza, according to a Channel 12 news report.