Netanyahu alludes to operation which sees Hamas number three possibly killed

Marwan Issa, deputy to Mohammed Deif and number three of Hamas’s high command, was targeted by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.

The IDF cleared the event for publication on Monday morning.

In a video published later on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alluded to the IDF operation.

“We are on our way to complete victory,” he said, adding, “We have already killed number four in the Hamas; three, two, and one are on the way.” 

“We will reach everyone,” he concluded. 

Number four to which Netayanahu alluded is Saleh al-arouri, who was killed in January in an alleged drone strike in Lebanon. 

Issa was reportedly hiding in Nusirat, in central Gaza, at the time of the strike, and it is unclear whether the Hamas leader was killed in the event.

Maariv, citing Palestinian sources, reported that Hamas was concerned about the status of the terror chief.

15 terrorists killed in central Gaza

Separately, in central Gaza, the IDF eliminated 15 terrorists through close-quarters engagements, sniper fire, and airstrikes, the IDF stated on Monday.

In one encounter, Israeli troops identified a terror cell carrying what were suspected to be weapons out of a Hamas military compound in the area.

IDF strikes, March 11, 2024. (credit: IDF Spokesperson Unit)

After observing the subsequent activities of the cell, the terror cell was eliminated by a strike from an IDF aircraft, the military noted.

The IDF similarly eliminated another terror cell that was observing the Israeli troops in the area.

The Israeli forces also operated in the area of Hamad in southern Gaza, where special forces units conducted raids on a number of civilian residences that were being used for terror purposes, the IDF reported.

During these raids, the IDF troops arrested Hamas terrorists and found weapons, ammunition, and other military ordnance. In one operation, an anti-tank missile was launched at the soldiers. However, no injuries among IDF personnel were reported as a consequence.

Later, Israeli troops identified, engaged, and killed a terrorist in close-quarters combat after he moved out of an area from which the anti-tank missile had been fired.

Off the coast of the northern portion of the Strip, Israeli naval forces also engaged terrorist operatives by targeting a vessel used by the Gaza terror organizations.

This is a developing story.

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