The Israeli military reported that it had killed three senior Hamas militants in airstrikes on a designated safe zone in southern Gaza. These strikes hit a densely populated tent camp in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, which was sheltering displaced Palestinians. Local health authorities confirmed that at least 19 people were killed, with many others trapped under the debris.
Video clips shared on social media showed the aftermath, with numerous tents engulfed in flames and large craters visible from the airstrikes.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Israeli military confirmed the operation, describing it as a “precise strike” based on intelligence. They targeted what they described as “senior Hamas terrorists” who were operating within a command and control center hidden within the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis. Among those killed were Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’s aerial unit, Osama Tabesh, responsible for targets and observation in the group’s military intelligence, and Ayman Mabhouh, a senior figure in Hamas.
These militants, according to the Israeli military, were directly involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel and were actively plotting further attacks against Israeli forces.
Following this, the Israeli army carried out another strike on the Al-Farouq Mosque in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, which they said was being used as another Hamas command center.
