OAN Staff James Meyers
8:48 AM – Thursday, October 3, 2024
The “right-hand man” of Hamas’ terrorist leader, Rawhi Mushtaha, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza, Israel announced on Thursday.
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Mushtaha, the head of Hamas’ government in Gaza, was one of three of the terror group’s leaders who were confirmed to be dead in an earlier missile strike on an underground compound in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced for the first time on Thursday.
“Mushtaha was considered to be the most senior figure in the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, and during the war maintained civil control of the Hamas regime, while simultaneously engaging in terror activity against Israel,” the military said.
He was also “one of Hamas’ most senior operatives, and had a direct impact on decisions relating to Hamas’ force deployment,” according to the IDF.
“Mushtaha was Sinwar’s right-hand man and one of his closest associates,” the Israeli military said.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ terror leader and October 7th mastermind Yahya Sinwar is still believed to be alive and hiding somewhere in Gaza.
Mushtaha and the two other slain leaders were killed almost three months ago in a targeted strike on a fortified compound in northern Gaza, which was used as a command and control center, according to the IDF.
The others killed along with Mushtaha were Sameh Al-Saraj, a Hamas senior security official, and Sami Odeh, Hamas’ general security service commander, the IDF said.
The IDF claims that Hamas didn’t announce their deaths at the time to “prevent loss of morale and the functioning of its terror operatives.”
Additionally, Abdel-Aziz Salha, a West Bank Hamas militant who was once jailed for the lynching of two Israeli reservists, was also killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike on a tent inside Al-Aklouk School, Gaza medics claimed.
Furthermore, the Jewish State announced that it has killed 15 Hezbollah fighters in multiple airstrikes across southern Lebanon that targeted the terrorist organization’s weapons storage facilities and observation posts.
Meanwhile, Israel has now shifted more of its focus in the war to securing its northern border with Lebanon as of late.
The recent ground operation has also left eight Israeli soldiers dead after Hezbollah ambushed them in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.
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