The Israel Defense Forces continue to strike at Hamas’s vital lifelines and military resurgence efforts across the Gaza Strip. On Thursday, Israeli Air Force aircraft eliminated two key operatives in the terror group’s military wing in targeted strikes across Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis. Both were actively operating to rebuild military infrastructure and execute terror plots against Israeli forces in violation of existing understandings. Among those eliminated were Jaber Muqbel, a central figure in a hawala money-changing network that funneled millions from abroad into Hamas coffers, and Hassan al-Batta, a senior sniper operative.
At the center of the strikes was the elimination of Jaber Muqbel in Deir al-Balah, who headed the Muqbel Exchange Company and served as a critical financial lifeline for Hamas’s military wing. According to defense establishment intelligence, the network transferred large sums in foreign currency to pay operatives’ salaries, procure weapons, and repair operational headquarters and underground tunnels damaged during combat. Meanwhile, in an additional strike conducted in the Khan Yunis sector, aircraft neutralized Hassan al-Batta, an operative in Hamas’s sniper network. The IDF noted that both operatives were actively involved in executing imminent terror plots targeting IDF forces and the Israeli home front, emphasizing that the strikes removed immediate operational threats.
The air operations unfolded against the backdrop of deep national mourning following a deadly incident in the northern Gaza Strip, in which Master Sergeant (res.) Nadav Kally, 24, of Har Halutz, and Master Sergeant (res.) Ofek Mualem, 23, of Jerusalem—both fighters in the 16th Brigade’s 7007th Battalion—fell in the line of duty. A preliminary investigation revealed that the force launched two explosive attack drones toward a spotted terrorist: while the first drone successfully hit its target, the second craft reversed course for reasons under review, crashing onto a succah structure inside the outpost. As the soldiers approached to inspect and secure the damaged device, it exploded, inflicting fatal injuries.
Following the fatal mishap, the IDF Chief of Staff ordered an immediate operational freeze on all explosive drone operations involving the “Atalef” and related models pending a comprehensive technical inquiry. Military expert teams are examining multiple lines of inquiry, chief among them whether Hamas deployed electronic warfare and frequency jamming that caused the drone to loop back, alongside potential navigational and flight-control system failures.
Earlier this week, the IDF and the Shin Bet eliminated Muhammad Abu Alwan, head of Hamas’s finance department, in Khan Yunis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement confirming the strike, praising security forces and affirming that the campaign against Hamas targets not only frontline commanders, but the financial nerve centers sustaining the organization’s operational survival.