Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: IDF
Israeli soldiers during operational activities in the Gaza Strip, July 13, 2025
(JNS) — A series of Israeli strikes in Gaza over the past two weeks killed several senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders, the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement released on Sunday.
The IDF and Shin Bet focused their efforts on units actively working to rebuild the military capabilities of the two terrorist organizations. These units included Hamas’s Weapons Production Headquarters and Military Intelligence Unit, both considered crucial to the organizations’ operational strength.
According to the statement, Hamas’s Weapons Production Headquarters is responsible for restoring and expanding the group’s arsenal, including the development of precision missiles. The Military Intelligence Unit gathers and analyzes intelligence to maintain operational control in Gaza and facilitate attacks against Israel.
The slain terrorists included Muhammad Abu Awwad, Bilal Abu Shikha, Tayseer Shareem, Mundhir Salami and Mustafa Dababesh, all from Hamas’s Weapons Production Headquarters; Bilal Musallam and Ahmad Abu Shamala from Hamas’s Military Intelligence Unit; Rabi‘ Mustafa Rabi‘ Sukhweil from Hamas’s “military” wing; and Muhammad al-Bayouk of the Islamic Jihad Weapons Production Apparatus.
Meanwhile, the broader operation in the Gaza Strip continues. Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli Air Force attacked over 100 targets in support of ground troops, including terrorists, infrastructure, military buildings, weapons depots and tunnel networks.
Under the Southern Command and with intelligence support, IDF divisions targeted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, killing terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure above and below ground. Key actions included the destruction of weapons caches, tunnels and the elimination of terrorist cells in areas such as Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, Deir al-Balah, Shejaiya and Zaytoun.
In recent weeks, the IDF Multi-Dimensional Unit, operating under the 162nd Division in the Jabalia area, completed its mission by killing more than 100 Hamas terrorists using advanced technology, unique combat tactics and close cooperation with infantry forces.
The unit also destroyed military structures, weapons stockpiles and Hamas observation posts, actions that, according to an IDF report on Monday, demonstrated a broad range of intelligence-gathering and operational capabilities.
In another significant development, the IDF announced on Monday that Israeli forces killed Hamas terrorist Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and held Emily Damari hostage in Gaza.
He was killed in a joint IDF-Shin Bet operation in the Gaza City area on June 19.
“Quneita was a terrorist in Hamas’s Al-Furqan Battalion’s military intelligence, who infiltrated Israel during the brutal October 7 massacre and held Emily Damari hostage in his home at the start of the war,” the IDF stated.
Damari, 29, a British-Israeli citizen, was released from captivity in Gaza on Jan. 19, 2025. She had been held hostage by Hamas for 471 days, after being abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Oct. 7 attacks.
The military said on Sunday that the IAF struck more than 150 enemy targets across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, including weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launchers, sniper posts and terrorist cells.
IDF troops continue to operate in the area of Beit Hanoun in northeastern Gaza, killing terrorists and dismantling arms facilities, command centers and underground infrastructure.
Israeli soldiers in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza identified a terrorist preparing to attack them and coordinated an airstrike that eliminated the threat.
