Hamas commander killed as Israel bombs Gaza’s largest refugee camp

Israel continued its Gaza offensive on Tuesday, and said that its fighter jets have killed a senior Hamas commander who was responsible for the October 7 attack. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on X (formerly Twitter) that Ibrahim Biari, commander of Hamas's Central Jabalia Battalion, was eliminated.

The IDF said the strike damaged "Hamas's command and control in the area and eliminated a large number of terrorists who were with Biari", adding that an underground terrorist infrastructure "collapsed following the strike".

"The IDF reiterates its call to the residents of the area to move south for their safety," the X post read.

The elimination of Biari was "very important" and even "pivotal in the planning and the execution of the October 7 attack against Israel" from the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported, quoting IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. He added that dozens of Hamas terrorists were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari.

According to Reuters, the IDF strikes hit a densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, and killed at least 50 Palestinians besides Biari. Medics struggled to treat the casualties and set up operating rooms in hospital corridors, the report added.

Palestinian health officials said at least 50 Palestinians were killed in the refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip, and as many as 150 were wounded. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem, however, denied the presence of any senior commander in the complex and called Israel's claim a pretext for killing civilians.

In a statement, the terrorist group said that a total of 400 deaths and injuries happened in Jabaliya, which houses families of refugees from wars with Israel dating back to 1948. Reuters said they could not independently verify the reported deaths.