IDF says Gaza strikes killed Hamas weapons commander and Islamic Jihad member

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it had killed two Palestinian militants in Gaza the previous day: a Hamas commander it says took part in the October 7 attack on Israel, and a member of the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. According to the IDF spokesperson, the Hamas commander, Mohammed Mohammed Abd al-Khalek Hala, was killed in a strike in the northern Gaza Strip and had served as a commander in the weapons production headquarters of the Hamas military wing.

The second man was killed in a separate strike in Khan Younis, in the south of the territory, The Times of Israel reported, citing the military. Joe Truzman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), summarising the IDF announcement, dated the strikes to Thursday, October 15.

Who the IDF says was killed

The military identified Hala as someone who entered Israeli territory during the October 7, 2023 attack. It said that in his role he manufactured various weapons and contributed to what it called the military buildup of Hamas throughout Gaza. Israeli broadcaster N12, in a post by its correspondent Nitzan Shapira, described him in the same terms, as a commander in the Hamas weapons production headquarters who helped build up the group's military force.

The Islamic Jihad member was named by the IDF on X as Ahmad Jabrin Tawfiq Dalhan. The reports do not fully agree on the spelling: The Times of Israel liveblog rendered the surname as Dalha, while the IDF post, The Jerusalem Post, N12 and the FDD summary used Dalhan. The military gave no rank or role for him beyond membership of the group's military wing.

The IDF said both men had recently been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians and were trying to restore the capabilities of their organisations. The Times of Israel quoted the military as saying this was being done "in systematic violation of the ceasefire." The IDF said the two were killed to remove the threat they posed.

An unconfirmed identification from Gaza

Abu Ali Express, a Hebrew-language Telegram channel that follows Arabic-language media, reported that the man killed in a drone strike in the north of Gaza City was Mohammed Hala, whom it called by the nickname Abu Maslama. The channel said Gazan social media users were cursing people they accused of collaborating with Israel by passing on the details that led to his killing. These claims appear only in that channel's post and were not part of the IDF statement, which did not say what kind of aircraft or munition was used.

The groups involved

Hamas is the Islamist movement that has governed the Gaza Strip and led the cross-border attack into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which started the war in Gaza. Its armed wing runs its own command structure, including the weapons manufacturing apparatus the IDF says Hala belonged to. Palestinian Islamic Jihad, often abbreviated PIJ, is a smaller armed Islamist faction in Gaza that has fought alongside Hamas. Israeli Hebrew-language outlets refer to it by the acronym Ga'af. Both are designated as terrorist organisations by Israel and a number of Western governments.

Khan Younis is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. The northern Gaza Strip, where the first strike took place, includes Gaza City, the territory's largest urban area.

How this fits the pattern

The announcement follows a format the IDF uses frequently: a named militant, a description of his role, a note where applicable that he took part in the October 7 attack, and a statement that he posed an ongoing threat. Israeli media outlets, including Ynet, News.co.il and N12, relayed the statement within minutes of its release. The reference to a ceasefire reflects the military's position that it is acting against violations by armed groups. The reports reviewed here do not include any response from Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Palestinian officials.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports gives an exact location for either strike beyond northern Gaza and Khan Younis, or the time of day they took place. None says whether anyone else was killed or wounded. The IDF did not describe the specific attacks it says the two men were planning, and it did not say how it identified Hala as a participant in October 7. There is no independent confirmation of the identities of those killed, and no account from Palestinian sources beyond the social media reaction described by Abu Ali Express. The discrepancy over the spelling of the second man's surname is also unresolved in the material.