The Israeli Air Force said it had killed another of those responsible for leading the attack last Saturday (7), which sparked the war. According to the authorities, 37-year-old Ali Qadhi, commander of the Nukhba unit, a kind of elite Hamas division, was killed in a drone strike following intelligence efforts by the Shin Bet security agency and the Military Intelligence Directorate. Qadhi was arrested by Israel in 2005 for kidnapping and murdering Israeli civilians and was released in the Gaza Strip as part of the prisoner exchange to free soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, who was taken hostage by Hamas.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli army reported the death of the main commander of the Hamas terrorist group’s air force, Merad Abu Merad, who had been identified as one of those responsible for directing the attack on Israeli civilians. “Last night, Israeli warplanes carried out large-scale attacks throughout the Strip,” including a point “where there were dozens of Hamas terrorist targets and Nukhba terrorist agents,” an elite unit of the Al-Qassam Brigades, “one of the main forces” that a week ago “led the ground infiltration” into Israel.
According to the army, Murad “played a major role and directed terrorists in Saturday’s massacre,” which left at least 260 dead at the Universo Paralello rave, including Brazilians Karla Stelzer Mendes, Bruna Valeanu and Ranani Nidejelski Glazer.
The Israeli army said it “simultaneously attacked, in a broad wave of strikes, dozens of military targets and Hamas operatives who were in staging areas throughout the Gaza Strip,” the post on social media states.
The bombings are part of Israel’s offensive against Hamas, after the group’s terrorists launched a series of attacks against the country. The conflict, which has entered its eighth day, has left more than 3,200 people dead.
Exchange of accusations
The head of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, accused Israel on Saturday of committing “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip.
“Israeli atrocities constitute war crimes and flagrant violations of international law,” said Haniyeh in an open letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to a statement published on the Palestinian Islamist movement’s website.