Israeli military says six Hamas commanders killed in Gaza strikes

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had targeted Hamas commanders in the Nuseirat and al-Tuffah areas of the Gaza Strip. In a separate statement, the army said operations in the previous day had killed a platoon commander from the elite Nitzah unit and three brigade commanders in the Beit Lahia Battalion of the coastal area. The military identified those targeted in Tuesday's strikes as Mohammed Fathi Hussein Nasr, Mohammed al-Attar, Sameh Samir Harb Abu Jabal and Mohammed Hamdi Ahmed al-Masri. Earlier, the army said an initial strike had killed a brigade commander from Hamas's military wing in Nuseirat, adding that the individual had taken part in the October 7, 2023 attack. A second operation, carried out jointly with the Shin Bet internal security service, targeted a Hamas official in the Diraj and al-Tuffah areas along with armed individuals accompanying him, according to the military. The Israeli military said the targeted individuals had been planning attacks against Israeli forces in Gaza. The Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported that an Israeli drone strike on central Gaza City on Wednesday killed nine people and wounded 15, while a separate strike on a motorcycle in the Nuseirat refugee camp killed one person. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected halting attacks on the Gaza Strip before Hamas fully disarms.