Israeli Strikes and Raids Target Hamas and Nukhba Figures in Gaza and Alleged Cell in West Bank
An Israeli UAV strike in southern Gaza killed Hamas operative Ramzi Abu Rida and, according to Israel, a Nukhba company commander, while a separate West Bank raid arrested five men the IDF says were planning an attack.
Israel’s military has carried out targeted operations in Gaza and the West Bank, killing Hamas and Nukhba figures in a drone strike in southern Gaza and arresting five men in a raid near Jenin that the army says were planning an attack.
Palestinian reports say an Israeli UAV struck a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, killing one person and wounding several others. The person killed was identified as Ramzi Abu Rida, a Hamas operative who had been imprisoned in Israel for 15 years and released in 2022 after being sentenced for planting explosive devices east of Khan Yunis.
Further to that strike, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet internal security service issued a joint statement saying they eliminated the commander of a Nukhba company who, according to their account, led a unit involved in an earlier attack and later commanded forces in western Khan Yunis. Nukhba is described by Israel as an elite Hamas force. Palestinian sources focused on the casualties and damage in the tent area.
In the occupied West Bank, the IDF Spokesperson said fighters from the Duvdevan Unit, guided by Shin Bet intelligence, operated early Friday in the Kabatiya area under the command of the Menashe Brigade. They arrested five Palestinians described as terrorists who were planning to carry out an attack, without specifying the intended target.
Palestinian outlets also reported five people wounded in a separate Israeli UAV strike on a tent in the Mawasi area, and later updates from the IDF and Shin Bet linked that incident to the killing of a Nukhba company commander.
For Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, the operations mean more UAVs overhead, explosions and night‑time raids in densely populated areas where militants and civilians live side by side. In Khan Yunis, many residents are in tents and temporary shelters, and in Kabatiya, night raids have become a recurring feature of life.
Key signals to watch now include further confirmation of the identities and roles of those killed and detained, any claimed retaliation by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, and whether Israel expands its current demolition and clearance operations east of Khan Yunis. Those developments will indicate whether these incidents remain limited tactical actions or feed into a wider escalation.
Sources
- OSINT