Israel killed a high-ranking Hamas internal security commander and continued operations against terrorists holed up in the UNRWA’s Gaza City headquarters, the Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday.
Hassan Abu Kuik, head of operational security in Hamas’ Internal Security Forces in Gaza’s central camps, was eliminated in an airstrike this week along with Naser Mehanna, a team commander in Hamas’s military intelligence.
Kuik was responsible for numerous terror attacks against Israel.
Troops continued operational activities against terrorist operatives embedded in the UN Relief and Works Agency’s Gaza City headquarters. Over the past day, soldiers located large quantities of weapons in the area of the headquarters, including explosive drones, grenades, explosive devices, snipers, mortar shells, rockets, and RPGs. In parallel, the troops directed an aerial strike on a combat compound in the area used by terrorists as a base to fire at IDF troops.
UNRWA, which supports “Palestinian” refugees, has been under fire for months, with Israeli officials demanding the agency be defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. The Israeli government is bypassing UNRWA in distributing humanitarian aid. On Tuesday, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee advanced legislation designating UNRWA as a “terror organization,” and stripping the agency of its diplomatic immunity, tax-exempt status, and other legal benefits.
In the Rafah area, Israeli forces eliminated dozens of terrorists and dismantled several terror infrastructure sites rigged with explosives, as well as tunnel shafts in the area. During targeted raids in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, troops located terror tunnel shafts, RPGs, and additional weaponry.
In the northern Gaza town of Shejaya, combat engineers destroyed two underground tunnel routes. Weapons, laptops and communication gear were found inside the tunnels. Soldiers also found equipment enabling terrorists to stay inside the tunnels for an extended period, including gas and electricity infrastructure.
During the operation in Shejaya, troops encountered a terror cell and engaged them in close-quarters combat. During the battle, the ground forces directed a drone and identified two armed terrorists hiding among the rubble. When the terrorists tried to shoot at the drone, they were eliminated by tank fire.
Soldiers eliminated dozens of other terrorists and destroyed combat compounds and booby-trapped buildings.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed dead.
