The IDF struck two senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, targeting northern Gaza brigade commander Ezz al-Din Beik and Gaza City deputy brigade commander Imad Aslim, who also serves as commander of the Zeitoun Battalion.
The strike was carried out while the two were reportedly meeting in the same apartment after emerging from Hamas’s underground tunnel network.
Israeli security officials are still awaiting final confirmation that both Hamas commanders had been killed.
Four killed in Israeli strike, Hamas-run Health Ministry claims
Officials from the Hamas-run Health Ministry claimed that at least four people were killed in the strike on Gaza City, Reuters cited.
Both targets were part of Hamas' leadership, but neither was a candidate to inherit the position of Hamas military chief from Muhammad Ouda, who was assassinated by the IDF on Tuesday night, only 11 days after his predecessor, Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, had also been assassinated.
Ouda joined Haddad, Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif, Muhammad Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and other top Hamas officials who Israel has assassinated since October 7, 2023.
Southern Command officials assessed that Hamas’s military wing may avoid publicly announcing its next commander, fearing that the successor could also be targeted.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.