The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed Thursday that Haytham Sheikh Khalil, commander of Hamas’s Shuja’iyya Battalion, was killed in an airstrike on a Hamas command center in Gaza City.

Khalil played a central role in the October 7 attack on Nahal Oz and was responsible for directing assaults on Israeli forces, as well as overseeing Hamas’s explosives and tunnel operations. He assumed command of the battalion following the deaths of its previous leaders.

The IDF said the targeted strike was carried out based on precise intelligence and surveillance, stressing its efforts to minimize civilian harm.

Meanwhile, Israeli ground forces expanded operations across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with a major focus on the Tel al-Sultan and Shaboura neighborhoods of Rafah, as well as the Morag Corridor. Troops located and destroyed dozens of Hamas targets, including tunnel networks and other terrorist infrastructure.

In northern Gaza, Israeli forces engaged and eliminated armed Hamas terrorists and dismantled a number of terror sites. The Israeli Air Force also carried out strikes on 35 Hamas positions that posed immediate threats to ground troops, the IDF said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)