Israel Announces the Killing of a Hamas Nukhba Unit Cell Commander in Gaza

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had killed a commander of the Hamas “Nukhba” elite unit in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the Israeli military said: “Yahya Saeed Mohammed Hamdan, a cell commander in Hamas’ Nukhba elite force, has been eliminated. He participated in the infiltration of the Re’im military base during the 7 October attack.”

According to the Israeli military, Hamdan had “planned attacks” against Israeli forces over recent months and had “worked to rebuild Hamas’ operational capabilities.”

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on communities in southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. Some of the hostages were later released as part of prisoner exchange agreements.

In response, Israel launched a large-scale military campaign in the Gaza Strip that resulted in the deaths of more than 70,000 Palestinians, the complete destruction of entire residential neighborhoods, and the displacement of approximately two million people from their homes.

During the same month last year, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement under US mediation.

However, since then, the Israeli military has carried out almost daily airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, resulting in more than one thousand additional deaths, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Hamas and Israel continue to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.