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Israel Says It Killed Hamas Commander Who ‘Doubled’ as UN Aid Worker

Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
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Israel Says It Killed Hamas Commander Who ‘Doubled’ as UN Aid Worker

Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)
Fighters from Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters file)

Israel's military said on Thursday it killed a Hamas commander who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel and also worked for the UN aid agency in the Gaza Strip.
The agency, UNRWA, has been accused by Israel of having many employees who double as members of Hamas and other armed groups. The UN, after an investigation, said in August that nine UNRWA staff were possibly involved in the Oct. 7 attacks and fired them.
The Israeli military said Mohammad Abu Itiwi was killed on Wednesday. It said he was a Hamas commander and had been involved in the murder and abduction of Israeli civilians. It also said he had been employed by UNRWA since July 2022 and that his name appeared on a list of the agency's employees.
UNRWA confirmed Itiwi was a staff member and was killed on Wednesday. It said Itiwi's name was included in a letter UNRWA received from Israel in July that included a list of 100 staff members who were also allegedly members of armed groups, including Hamas.
"The UNRWA commissioner general responded to that letter immediately stating that any allegation is taken seriously. He urged (the government of Israel) to cooperate with the agency by providing more information so he could take action. To date, UNRWA has not received any response to that letter," said Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of communications.
UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but relations have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded.
"Israel has requested urgent clarifications from senior UN officials and an urgent investigation into the involvement of UNRWA employees in the Oct. 7 massacre," said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

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Israeli Military Says Commandos Raided Missile Plant in Syria in September

People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Says Commandos Raided Missile Plant in Syria in September

People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
People inspect a damaged area in the aftermath of what Syrian state media reported was an Israeli strike in Masyaf, Hama province, Syria September 9, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel's military said on Thursday its special forces had raided an underground missile production site in Syria in September that it said was primed to produce hundreds of precision missiles for use against Israel by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The complex near Masyaf, close to the Mediterranean coast, was "the flagship of Iranian manufacturing efforts in our region", Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told a briefing with reporters.

"This facility was designed to manufacture hundreds of strategic missiles per year from start to finish, for Hezbollah to use in their aerial attacks on Israel."

He said the plant, dug into a mountainside, had been under observation by Israel since construction began in 2017 and was on the point of being able to manufacture precision-guided missiles, some with a range of up to 300 km (190 miles).

"This ability was becoming active, so we're talking about an immediate threat," he said.

Details of the Sept. 8 raid have been reported in Israeli media but Shoshani said this was the first confirmation by the military, which rarely comments on special forces operations.

At the time, Syrian state media said at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the west of the country.

Shoshani said the nighttime raid was "one of the more complex operations the IDF has done in recent years". Accompanied by airstrikes, it involved dozens of aircraft and around 100 helicopter-borne troops, he said.

"At the end of the raid, the troops dismantled the facility, including the machines and the manufacturing equipment, themselves," he said.

The military released footage showing Israeli troops boarding and dismounting from helicopters and moving through what appears to be a concrete-lined tunnel and industrial site, where they examine documents.

Other footage showed senior commanders at a control center, apparently as the operation proceeds.

Israeli officials have accused the former Syrian government of president Bahar al-Assad of helping the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement receive arms from Iran and say they are determined to stop the flow of weapons into Lebanon.

As Assad's government crumbled towards the end of last year, Israel launched a series of strikes against Syrian military infrastructure and weapons manufacturing sites to prevent them falling into the hands of enemies.