The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eliminated the head of Hamas’ West Bank terrorist operation and his deputy in an airstrike in Rafah terror stronghold.
The high-profile terrorists were killed in a strike on a compound being used as a base for terrorist operations in the West Bank, the Israeli media reports conform. “An IDF aircraft struck a Hamas compound in Rafah, targeting head of Hamas West Bank division Yassin Rabia, along with Khalid Nagaar, a senior member of the West Bank division,” the Jerusalem Post reported citing military sources.
The IDF strike disrupts Hamas’s terrorist operations in the West Bank. Reporting on Rabia’s activities the Israeli news website YNET noted, “Rabia managed the entirety of Hamas’ terrorist activity across the West Bank, transferred funds to terror targets and planned Hamas terror attacks throughout the territory.”
The slain terrorists were responsible for a series of deadly attacks against innocent Israelis. “In the past, Rabia carried out numerous murderous terror attacks, including in 2001 and 2002, in which IDF soldiers were killed,” the news outlet added. “Nagar had reportedly directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities across the West Bank and transferred funds intended for Hamas’ terrorist activities in the Gaza Strip.”
The Times of Israel reported the Rafah airstrike:
The commander of Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters and another top official in the terror group were killed in tonight’s Israeli airstrike in Rafah, according to the IDF.The West Bank headquarters is a Hamas unit charged with advancing attacks against Israel from or in the West Bank.Yassin Rabia, the head of the West Bank headquarters, and Khaled Najjar, another senior member of the unit, were killed in the strike in the Tel Sultan area of northwestern Rafah, the IDF says. The strike, according to Hamas health officials, killed some 35 people.The IDF says the strike was carried out based on “precise intelligence.”Rabia, according to the IDF, “managed all of the military arrays of the West Bank headquarters… was involved in the transfer of funds for terror purposes and directed attacks by Hamas operatives” in the West Bank.The IDF also says that Rabia committed several deadly attacks himself, in 2001 and 2002, killing Israeli soldiers.Najjar was involved in directing shooting attacks and other terror activities in the West Bank, and was also involved in funneling funds to Hamas operatives, the military says.Najjar also carried out several attacks between 2001 and 2003, according to the IDF, killing civilians and killing and wounding soldiers.
Besides destroying Hamas’s West Bank terror base in Rafah, the Israeli air force hit several terror targets across Gaza. “Over the past day, IAF aircraft and fighter jets struck and dismantled over 75 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including weapons storage facilities, terrorist cells, rocket launchers, military structures, observation posts, and additional terrorist infrastructure,” the IDF disclosed in a press release Monday.
Meanwhile, the Israeli ground troops were destroying the remnant of Hamas’ terrorist fighting force trying to regroup in northern and central Gaza. “The troops are significantly damaging Hamas’ capabilities in the central Gaza Strip and are intensifying their control over the area,” the IDF statement said. “The troops have destroyed dozens of terrorist structures, located a tunnel route, as well as large quantities of weapons and intelligence assets.”
As the IDF operates along Egypt’s border to encircle the Hamas stronghold of Rafah, Egyptian military on Monday fired at Israeli troops in the area. Two Egyptian soldiers were reportedly killed in retaliatory fire. No Israeli casualties were reported.
The IDF issued a statement Monday morning, confirming that “a shooting incident occurred on the Egyptian border.”
In recent weeks, the IDF uncovered at least 50 terror tunnels running between Egypt and Rafah terror stronghold. The elaborate cross-border tunnel system suggest that Hamas has been receiving weapons and supplies from Egypt.
Israel fears that these tunnels, currently funneling weapons from Egypt into Rafah, could be used to smuggle out hostages and top terrorists as the IDF advances on the terrorist bastion. “These tunnels are used by Hamas to supply itself with weapons and ammunition and could potentially be used to smuggle out of Gaza hostages, or Hamas senior operators,” the senior Israeli official said recently.
Egyptian forces also have a history of colluding with criminal elements in Gaza. “Last June, an Egyptian police officer infiltrated Israel and killed three IDF soldiers. Egypt claimed that the incident occurred when the officer chased drug smugglers into Israel,” the Jerusalem Post recalled Monday. “An investigation by Israel found that the police officer infiltrated through an emergency gate in the border fence and walked 150 meters before killing two soldiers, infiltrating deeper into the country, and killing another soldier in an exchange of fire.”
The i24NEWS reported the cross-border incident:
Israeli soldiers and Egyptian forces exchanged fired at the Rafah crossing on Monday in a rare incident, with at least two Egyptian soldier killed.Several more Egyptian soldiers were reportedly wounded. No Israeli soldier was wounded in the incident.The IDF confirmed that it was in contact with Egypt over the shooting, and that an investigation is underway.While Egyptian reports said the Israeli soldiers opened fire fire, a military source confirmed that Engineering Corps soldiers operating in Rafah came under fire from Egyptian forces before returning fire.An Egyptian army spokesman said in a statement that “The Egyptian armed forces are conducting an investigation through the relevant authorities regarding an incident of opening fire in the border area in Rafah – which resulted in the death of one of those responsible for border security.”
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