Israel Claims Killing of Hamas Attack Battalion Commander and Activities at Al-Shifa Hospital

Illustration of Israeli fighter jets. (Wikimedia Commons/Deror Avi)

JAKARTA - Israel managed to kill the Shati Hamas Battalion Commander in an air strike by fighter jets on Sunday, said Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

The Israeli military claimed that the figure named Haitham Khuwajari was partly responsible for the October 7 attack and was linked to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which was accused of being used by the Hamas militant group.

"Following IDF and ISA intelligence information, an IDF fighter jet attacked and killed Haitham Khuwajari, Commander of Hamas's Shati Battalion. Under his command, Hamas carried out an attack on Israeli territory on October 7," said a joint statement by the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency, reported by CNN, December 4.

The statement also said Khuwajari "led Hamas forces fighting against IDF troops in the Shati region". The IDF itself took control of the Al-Shati refugee camp located in the northern Gaza strip in mid-November.

Not only that, the IDF also said that Khuwajari was responsible for facilitating Hamas activities inside Al-Shifa Hospital, and had previously carried out a number of attacks against Israeli citizens, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post.

Previously, the IDF succeeded in killing the Hamas Shejaiya Battalion commander Wissam Farhat on Saturday. He is said to be responsible for directing the attack on Nahal Oz.