Israel has stepped up targeted killings of fighters in Gaza for a fourth day in a row, zeroing in on field commanders in the military wings of Palestinian factions, particularly the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, across the north and south of the enclave.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military used a suicide drone to strike a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, killing Mohammed Abu Shahla, a senior field commander in the Khan Younis brigade and its intelligence chief.
A field source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Abu Shahla was “the third-ranking figure in the eastern Khan Younis area” and a key figure within the Qassam Brigades due to his military and security experience.
Several civilians were wounded in the strike.
A day earlier, an Israeli drone hit a vehicle carrying Yahya Abu Labda, a Qassam Brigades field commander responsible for logistics and supply in Khan Younis. He was killed along with two others nearby.
Field sources said Abu Labda had also been active in humanitarian work, overseeing projects to establish camps for displaced people and deliver aid. He had received substantial donations from abroad, “which may have contributed to Israel accelerating his targeting,” the sources said.
On Monday, an Israeli drone strike killed Younis Alyan, a field commander in the northern brigade of the Qassam Brigades, firing a single missile that killed him instantly.
The Israeli military said Alyan was in charge of the brigade’s naval force and had led a series of attacks.
Sources within the Qassam Brigades told Asharq Al-Awsat that Alyan had recently been tasked with reorganizing the group’s structure in western Jabalia and had held several roles during and before the war.
On Sunday, an Israeli strike killed seven Hamas police members in a vehicle in the Zawayda area in central Gaza. It later emerged that one of them, Iyad Abu Youssef, was a Qassam Brigades field commander who also served as a Hamas police officer.
According to an Asharq Al-Awsat tally, at least seven field commanders, including company commanders and deputy battalion commanders, have been killed in the past two weeks, among them Alyan, Abu Labda, and Abu Shahla, along with other fighters.
The escalation in Gaza coincided with Israeli killings of two Hamas operatives in Lebanon. One, Wissam Taha, was killed in Sidon and described by the Israeli military as part of a financial network supporting the group. The other, Walid Deeb, was a Hamas official in Lebanon’s refugee camps.
Armed groups backed by Israel have mirrored the campaign. On Tuesday, gunmen tried to kill a Qassam Brigades operative in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
Two assailants opened fire inside a supermarket using a silenced weapon, seriously wounding him before fleeing toward Israeli-controlled areas.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that members of these groups had received advanced training at Israeli military sites and now possess weapons and drones, and are being trained to use them against Hamas operatives.
The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said it had recorded 2,073 violations of a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10. These included 750 shooting incidents, 87 incursions, 973 bombardments and 263 demolitions of homes and buildings.
The violations have killed more than 677 people, including 305 children and women, wounded 1,813 and led to 50 arrests.
